ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥 Turkey鈥檚 first astronaut will travel to the International Space Station by the end of the year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday after an illness forced him to cancel several days of appearances.
Air force pilot Alper Gezeravci, 43, was selected to be the first Turkish citizen in space. His backup is Tuva Cihangir Atasever, 30, an aviation systems engineer at Turkish defense contractor Roketsan.
Erdogan made the announcement at the Teknofest aviation and space fair in Istanbul, the president's first public appearance during a TV interview on Tuesday. He appeared alongside Azerbaijan鈥檚 president, Ilham Aliyev, and Libya's interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
鈥淥ur friend, who will go on Turkey鈥檚 first manned space mission, will stay on the International Space Station for 14 days,鈥 Erdogan said. 鈥淥ur astronaut will perform 13 different experiments prepared by our country鈥檚 esteemed universities and research institutions during this mission.鈥
Erdogan described Gezeravci as a 鈥渉eroic Turkish pilot who has achieved significant success in our Air Force Command.鈥
The Turkish Space Agency website describes Gezeravci as a 21-year air force veteran and F-16 pilot who attended the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.
Wearing a red flight jacket, Erdogan appeared in robust health as he addressed crowds at the festival. Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections are , and opinion polls show Erdogan in potentially his toughest race since he came to power .
Turkey is dealing with a prolonged economic downturn, and after a February earthquake killed more than 50,000 in the country. Experts blamed the high death toll in part on shoddy construction and law enforcement of building codes.
While campaigning for reelection, Erdogan has unveiled a number of prestigious projects, such as Turkey鈥檚 first nuclear power plant and the delivery of natural gas from Black Sea reserves.
