site.btaUPDATED Space Research and Technology Institute Marks 55th Anniversary
The Space Research and Technology Institute with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (SRTI-BAS) Tuesday celebrated its 55th anniversary. The event also celebrated the 45th anniversary of the flight of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, and the 20th anniversary of the International Scientific Session Space - Ecology - Safety. The anniversaries were honoured at a session in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, said SRTI-BAS.
It was held under the auspices of President Rumen Radev.
Among the guests were Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov and foreign cosmonauts, including Bertalan Farkas of Hungary, Vladimír Remek of Czechia and Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu of Romania. All of them have worked under the Intercosmos space programme, part of which was also Georgi Ivanov's space flight.
There were also SRTI-BAS researchers, BAS members, representatives of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, the Air Force, students and participants in the Space - Ecology - Safety 2024 conference.
Among the official guests were Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, Air Force Commander Gen. Dimitar Petrov, the head of the Sofia Defence College, Gen. Todor Dochev, and BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.
The audience heard a congratulatory address by President Radev in which he underscored the significance of the SRTI-BAS contribution to the Intercosmos programme. "In those early years, when cosmonauts performed the first flights and did the first studies, nobody imagined that the world today would not live without space technologies, without all the space-based systems that help the life of our civilization." the address said. He also underscored the role of space technologies for national defence.
An address by Education Minister Galin Tsokov and his team said that the Ministry is determined to continue investing in research infrastructure, in national human potential, in programmes for research and innovation, and continue supporting international cooperation.
At a news conference before the official opening of the session, the foreign cosmonauts, and Bulgaria's Georgi Ivanov and Krasimir Stoyanov shared their experience with the Intercosmos programme.
The director of SRTI-BAS, Prof. Dr Georgi Zhelev, took the audience through the history of the institute since its establishment in 1962.
"In 1972, the Pribor 1 (P1) space instrument was launched, and then Bulgaria declared its ambitions in conquering space. It also made us the 18th space-faring country in the world in that field," said Prof. Zhelev.
He said that with the flight of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov and then of Alexander Alexandrov, Bulgaria ranked sixth among the countries that have sent cosmonauts to space.
"I am proud of what our colleagues before us have done. They gave us this good foundation that we can build on now, and in the future, I hope, for the young people we see here," the SRTI-BAS Director said.
He further pointed out that while funding used to be centralized, now it is more project-based. He noted that this does not prevent the SRTI team from working in almost all areas of space research: from remote sensing and studies of the Earth's surface through space physics, telemedicine, automata and automated control systems, to nanotechnology and new materials.
In appreciation for the cooperation and support, Prof. Zhelev awarded plaques to Georgi Ivanov, Krasimir Stoyanov and Alexandr Alexandrov, and the foreign cosmonauts, as well as the Air Force Commander and the BAS President.
The first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov recalled the most important years of the first space research teams in Bulgaria, and shared interesting facts from the preparation of his flight and the history of space science globally.
After the celebration of the anniversary of the establishment of SRTI-BAS, the 20th International Scientific Conference "Space - Ecology - Safety kicked off with papers by researchers from the US, India, Austria and Egypt. It will be on until October 25.
/MY/
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