42 years since the first flight of a Bulgarian astronaut in space

published on 4/10/21 6:50 AM

Nikolai Rukavishnikov and Georgi Ivanov (right)

Photo: BNR archive

The day was April 10, 1979 and the time 20 hours and 34 minutes. The Soyuz-33 spacecraft launched into orbit takes to outer space. The first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov was onboard. He made 31 complete orbits around the Earth. Onboard the ship Bulgaria's Ivanov was with the Soviet cosmonaut Nikolai Rukavishnikov.

This flight placed Bulgaria as the 6th space country in the world after the USSR, USA, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the GDR.

All-Bulgarian equipment and appliances were created specifically for this flight which were the work of Bulgarian scientists. Bulgarian scientists also created different types of space foods while preserving the taste, aroma and nutritional qualities of the products in space flight.

Some of the Bulgarian developments continue to be used in space flights to this day.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!

Radio Bulgaria News astronaut cosmonaut flight in space Georgi Ivanov Nikolai Rukavishnikov outer space Soyuz space USSR

More from category

In July, Bulgaria will know whether it will join the eurozone on January 1, 2026

In July, it will become completely clear whether Bulgaria will join the eurozone on January 1, 2026. This was stated in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio by Deputy Minister of Finance Metodi Metodiev. The two reports on the assessment..

published on 4/17/25 3:03 PM

The rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia are not protected, the vice president believes

Bulgaria does not impose additional conditions on the process and negotiations of the Republic of North Macedonia with the EU, said Vice President Iliana Iotova at the opening of the “EU meets the Balkans” forum in Sofia. The forum is atte nded..

published on 4/17/25 1:49 PM

Bulgarian researchers create new method for tracking chromosomes

Bulgarian young researchers have made an impressive scientific discovery in the field of cell biology . A Bulgarian team has published a scientific paper in which they track human chromosomes during mitosis, which was previously considered impossible...

published on 4/17/25 12:41 PM