Search

Romania will soon send into space a nano-satellite, named Goliat, aboard the European Space rocket Vega said on October 6 agency AGERPRES, cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu, Chairman Scientific Space Agency Romanian (ASR). Romania won by tender the right to do launch, along with five other satellites, including several dozen satellites in Europe.

"We look forward to the completion of construction of the European Vega rocket, a major project, coordinated by Italian experts and aboard which Romania won the right to launch its nano-satellite weighs 1 kilogram, and Despite these small dimensions, will carry out several experiments in science and stimulate many young researchers, "said Prunariu. He said that many students have participated in the construction of this satellite, which then became experts in the field

and have collaborated with institutions in the United States and Europe. These students are ready at any time to build satellites for small sizes Space Agency. D. Prunariu considered one of most important problems consists of launching satellites and therefore the design of the launcher.

Goliat construction began in 2005 and was originally to be launched on 1 December 2008, but the first test flight was postponed for technical reasons and postponed to autumn 2009, but now Prunariu said that the launch will be in 2010. Goliath will be equipped with a camera observing the Earth which will provide images of the territory of Romania with a resolution of about 20 m. Similarly, the satellite will provide information on the flux of micrometeorites and the amount of radiation in low orbits.

The Romanian cosmonaut said that the future of astronautics Romanian is directly linked to that of the International Astronautical especially European. "The ASR - government agency that supports research and applications in space in Romania, which coordinates national and international relations in this area - is already three years an associate member of the European Space Agency and the Next year she will become a full member. This means that we achieve in our research and our industry a level of discipline very strict, as the European institutions, "he said.

Asked about when another Romanian fly in space, D. Prunariu responded that this will happen within a time probably long enough as it is a global crisis of space launch. "The Space Shuttle will be out of service next year, probably with special efforts for political reasons primarily. The life span of a few pitchers will be extended, but the Americans have already signed trade agreements with the Federation Russia to launch U.S. astronauts aboard Soyuz capsules. It's three space shuttles to places that will be used in the coming years, time to develop new systems of U.S. spaceflight in the space. These new systems are currently undergoing testing and it is estimated they will become functional in 2015, "confirms Prunariu. Besides these programs, the launch of Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) in space, but they have their own national program, for now, does not involve international participation.

The year 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy. D. Prunariu said that Romania has a national program that primarily concerns applications nationally, but the country is also involved in several European programs, like the Galileo Program, program navigation and global positioning, or the Global Monitoring Environment and Security, which Romania participates in international bidding. "I can say that among the countries of Eastern Europe, we participate with some success in these programs," said Prunariu.