Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, recently held talks with Dozrij Olegovics Rogozin, director of Roscosmos, the Russian state space research company, on sending a Hungarian astronaut into space again in 2025 at the latest, who will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in a 2024-2025 joint Russian-Hungarian space project.
Currently, there are three Russian space research projects that involve Hungarian technological value-added, which include producing micro-satellite fleets and new equipment for the ISS. However, at the end of last year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a European Space Agency ministerial conference in Seville that Hungary plans to send an astronaut into space in 2024.
He said that “our goal is to have a Hungarian astronaut in the team that will bring these devices to the International Space Station,” adding that there is a political agreement with Russia and the details are being negotiated.
In December, Szijjártó signed agreements with the director of Russian state space research company Roscosmos about the launch of the Hungary-Russia space research projects and the selection and training of a Hungarian astronaut to be sent to the International Space Station in 2024-2025.
Selection of Hungarian Astronaut to Begin for 2024 Hungary-Russia Space Project
Back then, Szijjártó said that sending a Hungarian research astronaut to the ISS by 2024-2025 is a realistic target. The aim is that space equipment developed with Hungarian involvement and added value should be taken to the space station by a Hungarian astronaut, who would then stay for 3-6 months and use the equipment for research work.
Now it seems that this plan will become reality, as Szijjártó is negotiating with Roscosmos director Rogozin about sending a Hungarian astronaut to the ISS by 2025 at the latest. In a video uploaded to Facebook, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that “of course, there are those who are dismissive when hearing about space exploration. We can also take this as a show of disrespect to the Hungarian experts, researchers and companies who are already at the forefront of Europe in this field.”
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