A Turkish man who became famous thanks to a viral video of him being carried away by the wind on an umbrella is applying for participation in the national space program. It is reported by the Middle East Monitor.
Sadik Kochadali joined the open recruitment of the first astronauts in Turkey. The man already has flying experience behind him: three years ago, during a hurricane, he took to the air on an umbrella from a summer cafe.
Sadyk’s short flight was captured on camera, later this video gained popularity on the Web.
In fact, Kochadali has a chance of successfully passing the selection, as he meets the key requirements for candidates.
Earlier, on May 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the search for applicants to participate in the first flight to the ISS in 2023. The head of state also announced the main criteria: Turkish citizenship, age over 45, a bachelor’s degree in engineering, natural or basic sciences, as well as knowledge of English. Applications will be accepted until June 23rd.
In February 2021, the head of the Turkish Space Agency, Serdar Hussein Yildirim, announced the country’s interest in cooperation with Russia in the space industry. He noted that Turkey is most likely using the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to fly its cosmonaut, as “it is a very reliable spacecraft” that has proven itself very well in space.
At the MAKS-2019 aerospace show, Rogozin admitted that Turkish astronauts could be sent to the International Space Station (ISS). He said that he offered Erdogan to prepare a Turkish cosmonaut.