Hungarian Spaceflight
General Farkas Bertalan – First Hungarian astronaut
In 1980, the first Hungarian astronaut, fighter pilot General Farkas Bertalan, became the 97th human to enter space aboard Soyuz 36.
The scientific objectives of his mission included:
- Measuring radiation doses received by crewmembers using small sensors placed on their clothing and station walls.
- Studying the formation of interferon in human cells under microgravity conditions.
- Photographing Hungary from space while simultaneously capturing video footage from an airplane and helicopter.
- Conducting material science and crystal growth experiments in the Splav furnace to understand the physical processes of melting, diffusion, and crystallization in space.
In addition to these experiments, Farkas also contributed to medical, biological, and psychological studies that explored human resilience to the stresses of spaceflight.
Joining the European Space Agency
Hungary began its cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1991 through a collaboration agreement and officially became a member of ESA in 2015. In 2021, as part of its National Space Strategy, Hungary set a goal to send an astronaut to the International Space Station. This initiative laid the groundwork for the first-ever agreement between ESA and a member state to implement a national astronaut research program in this way.