After the first Turkish astronaut aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket embarked on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2021 speech, in which he criticized the enormous spending of the rich on space tourism and highlighted the plight of millions of people struggling to access basic food, was revisited on social media.
The mission, marking Turkey’s inaugural venture into manned space exploration, has sparked a debate over its significance and timing, particularly in light of Turkey’s current economic challenges.
Alper Gezeravcı launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 18 and is set to spend two weeks on the ISS, conducting scientific experiments. While many hailed the mission as a milestone in Turkey’s space ambitions, some questioned its cost — $55 million for a seat, according to an announcement by SpaceX in 2018.
The financial aspects of the mission were particularly controversial. Comparisons were drawn with the Indian moon mission, which reportedly cost $75 million. This has raised questions about the financial prudence of Turkey’s space project given the country’s current socioeconomic challenges, including a cost of living crisis and inflation that was 65 percent year-on-year in December.
Many argue that the funds could have been better spent, especially considering Turkey’s current economic situation. The mission’s funding and its timing, closely preceding local elections, have fueled suspicions of it being a political maneuver by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
President Erdoğan, however, has defended the mission, aligning it with Turkey’s National Space Program and its potential scientific contributions. His previous remarks from 2021, criticizing the extravagant spending on space tourism amid widespread poverty, have resurfaced, adding an ironic twist to the current discourse.
“On the one hand, 810 million people have no access to the most basic foodstuffs; on the other, the rich can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a few minutes of tourist space travel,” Erdoğan said in October 2021 in a video message for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Eighth Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development held in Istanbul.
A video clip of Erdoğan’s comments went viral on social media following Gezeravcı’s successful docking on the ISS on Saturday, with many drawing attention to the apparent contradiction between Erdoğan’s previous statements and the current government’s actions. The irony lies in the fact that Turkey’s foray into space exploration, with SpaceX’s announced cost of $55 million per seat, mirrors the very scenario Erdoğan once condemned.
Despite the criticism, President Erdoğan, in a live conversation with Gezeravcı at the ISS held on Monday, reiterated the mission’s alignment with Turkey’s National Space Program and its potential contributions to various scientific fields.
“With this important mission that you have carried out as part of our National Space Program, you are a source of inspiration for our entire nation, especially for our children,” Erdoğan said.
“You are our first astronaut, but you won’t be the last. Turkey has taken its place among the countries that carry out manned space missions.”