ISTANBUL: The Ax-3 space mission began its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, blasting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre with its four-person crew, including Trkiye’s first spacefarer Alper Gezeravci.
It launched from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral, Florida facility at 4:49 pm Eastern Standard Time (ET) (2149GMT) on a Falcon 9 rocket of private space exploration company SpaceX.
Around 150 seconds after the launch, the main engine cut off, and stage separation was realised.
The crew is expected to dock at the ISS at approximately 5.15 am ET (1015GMT) on Saturday.
The Ax-3 mission is being led by Michael Lopez-Alegria, representing the US and Spain, while the crew also includes Walter Villadei as the pilot from the Italian Air Force and Marcus Wandt of Sweden, representing the European Space Agency.
Source: Emirates News Agency