SpaceX postpones launch of rocket with Turkish astronaut

The launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which will carry the first Turkish astronaut to the International Space Station, was postponed.

SpaceX announced that the launch of Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the ISS has been delayed by a day, to 21:49 GMT on January 18.

Türkiye's first space traveler Alper Gezeravcı will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the Ax-3 crew to the ISS, Anadolu reported.

Lift-off was delayed by 24 hours in order "to carry out technical checks", Turkey's Industry Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said.

According to him, the targeted launch time is January 19, 2024 at 00.49 Turkish time (2149GMT).

"We will continue to wait with excitement for our astronaut Gezeravci to successfully accomplish this historic mission," Kacir said.