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Türkiye's First Astronaut Blasts Off to ISS on Wednesday

Alper Gezeravci will become Türkiye's first astronaut when he blasts off for the ISS - AFP
Alper Gezeravci will become Türkiye's first astronaut when he blasts off for the ISS - AFP
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Türkiye's First Astronaut Blasts Off to ISS on Wednesday

Alper Gezeravci will become Türkiye's first astronaut when he blasts off for the ISS - AFP
Alper Gezeravci will become Türkiye's first astronaut when he blasts off for the ISS - AFP

When Türkiye's first astronaut blasts off for the International Space Station (ISS) this week.

Alper Gezeravci, a 43-year-old fighter pilot and colonel in Türkiye's air force, is due to take off on Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a two-week mission.

He will be joining Swedish, Italian and Spanish astronauts aboard a shuttle provided by the private Axiom Space company, which will be conducting its third flight under a partnership with NASA, AFP reported.

The Turkish president presented Gezeravci to the Turkish public in the runup to his re-election last year, calling the 21-year air force veteran a "heroic Turkish pilot".

"We see it as a new symbol of the growing, stronger and assertive Türkiye," Erdogan said about the space mission on Tuesday.

Marc Pierini, a former diplomat and senior researcher at Carnegie Europe, said Gezeravci's flight illustrates "Turkish excellence in the aerospace field", which includes the creation of a world-leading combat drone company.

"It doesn't have anything to do with Türkiye's ability to be an actor that could influence the global political agenda," Pierini said.

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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Power failures caused delays and disruption on London's Tube network on Monday, as several of its busiest lines were suspended.

The Bakerloo line was completely suspended as of 1715 local time (1615 GMT), while other services including the Jubilee, Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines were facing severe or minor delays following a power outage more than two hours earlier.

Transport for London (TfL) said it was working to get the whole network back to normal service as quickly as possible.

"Due to a brief interruption of the power supply to our network, several lines lost power for a short period earlier this afternoon," TfL Chief Operating Officer Claire Mann said in a statement.

Britain's National Grid confirmed that a fault on its transmission network had caused a power failure.

"The fault was resolved within seconds and did not interrupt supply from our network, but a consequent voltage dip may have briefly affected power supplies on the low voltage distribution network in the area," a spokesperson said.

The incident also caused a small contained fire which was brought under control, National Grid said.

The potential for power failures to cause major disruption came into sharp focus in March when London's Heathrow Airport was forced to shut for 18 hours due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, stranding hundreds of thousands of air travelers.

Transport trade union TSSA called for an inquiry into the incident to ensure a similar power outage does not happen again.

"Safety for all is key at this moment, but in due course we will need a proper inquiry into what happened and the lessons to be learned," TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said.