Lady leads Turks into new frontier
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Çınar Kiper
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 17, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - Lady luck smiles on Dr. Asiye Demet Aşkın as she wins a trip to space. ’They called me and told me I would be the first Turk to fly that high,’ she says. Being the first Turk, and that first Turk being a woman swayed her.
Garanti Bank's Shop & Miles, a frequent-flyer credit card, regularly runs campaigns for its customers, and this year they ran the "Edge of Space" campaign that took one lucky customer to Capetown, South Africa from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 to fly extremely high.
Aşkın told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review she had not signed up or applied for the lottery. "I never play games of chance. I don’t believe in leaving anything to luck," but when Shop & Miles called her after she had won the trip and the flight, she was tempted.
"They called me and told me I would be the first Turk to fly that high. Being the first Turk, and that first Turk being a woman, was a big factor in me deciding to go," she said.
Another big factor was that she had absolutely no prior interest in space or aviation, having only flown for transportation, "I accepted because it was just one of those things you have to try at least once in your life."
And while her husband and children were apprehensive at first because of the risks involved, they were supportive once she expressed interest, and is glad she did.
Aşkın and her husband woke up excited on the morning of the flight and went to Thunder City where it would take place. Before ascending on the Rolls Royce Turbo Electric Lightning jets, the world’s fastest jets that fly at altitudes of 20 kilometers, she had to undergo a three-hour training process.
She was the only person going up that day, as the flights are expensive and not many people can handle it. "One person had demanded that the jet return after five minutes, just four days before my flight," Aşkın said.
Full throttle ahead for Turkish woman in Cape Town
Once prepped and strapped in, it was just her and the pilot, and they took off. She said the takeoff was very fast and the pressure during the ascent was great. "During the ascent you can’t even lift your hand. There is an immense sound, an immense pressure and you can barely hear anything. It is a discomforting feeling, but not something that cannot be handled."
The pilot was monitoring her carefully, testing her along the way. "Once we hit our peak altitude, the pressure stopped. It is an amazing feeling. It was quiet, you felt like you were just floating in space, even though the jet was still flying."
During the space race in the 1960s, many astronauts talked about how stunned they were seeing such a politicized and divided world lacking any political borders. Aşkın had a similar insight, though one more suited for the 21st century: the environment. From the edge of space, she was able to see the hemisphere, "I was seeing Africa, and some of South America. You are lost in thoughts up there, and I felt great sadness over how we were letting such beauty go to waste."
During descent, she was able to pilot the plane for a few minutes. "It was so calm up there, I thought I could pilot it for a bit, and I did for about 35 kilometers." Finally, the trip to space ended after half an hour.
The first high-altitude flight by a Turk having been a woman was an important part in her decision to go, but no organizations or bodies have called in support or congratulations. Instead, she has been receiving many calls from individuals.
"I was surprised by how much fascination with space there was in Turkey," she said. "People have been calling me to congratulate me, to praise my courage, but I never thought it was a situation that required courage. I just decided to do it and did."
Aşkın told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review she had not signed up or applied for the lottery. "I never play games of chance. I don’t believe in leaving anything to luck," but when Shop & Miles called her after she had won the trip and the flight, she was tempted.
"They called me and told me I would be the first Turk to fly that high. Being the first Turk, and that first Turk being a woman, was a big factor in me deciding to go," she said.
Another big factor was that she had absolutely no prior interest in space or aviation, having only flown for transportation, "I accepted because it was just one of those things you have to try at least once in your life."
And while her husband and children were apprehensive at first because of the risks involved, they were supportive once she expressed interest, and is glad she did.
Aşkın and her husband woke up excited on the morning of the flight and went to Thunder City where it would take place. Before ascending on the Rolls Royce Turbo Electric Lightning jets, the world’s fastest jets that fly at altitudes of 20 kilometers, she had to undergo a three-hour training process.
She was the only person going up that day, as the flights are expensive and not many people can handle it. "One person had demanded that the jet return after five minutes, just four days before my flight," Aşkın said.
Full throttle ahead for Turkish woman in Cape Town
Once prepped and strapped in, it was just her and the pilot, and they took off. She said the takeoff was very fast and the pressure during the ascent was great. "During the ascent you can’t even lift your hand. There is an immense sound, an immense pressure and you can barely hear anything. It is a discomforting feeling, but not something that cannot be handled."
The pilot was monitoring her carefully, testing her along the way. "Once we hit our peak altitude, the pressure stopped. It is an amazing feeling. It was quiet, you felt like you were just floating in space, even though the jet was still flying."
During the space race in the 1960s, many astronauts talked about how stunned they were seeing such a politicized and divided world lacking any political borders. Aşkın had a similar insight, though one more suited for the 21st century: the environment. From the edge of space, she was able to see the hemisphere, "I was seeing Africa, and some of South America. You are lost in thoughts up there, and I felt great sadness over how we were letting such beauty go to waste."
During descent, she was able to pilot the plane for a few minutes. "It was so calm up there, I thought I could pilot it for a bit, and I did for about 35 kilometers." Finally, the trip to space ended after half an hour.
The first high-altitude flight by a Turk having been a woman was an important part in her decision to go, but no organizations or bodies have called in support or congratulations. Instead, she has been receiving many calls from individuals.
"I was surprised by how much fascination with space there was in Turkey," she said. "People have been calling me to congratulate me, to praise my courage, but I never thought it was a situation that required courage. I just decided to do it and did."