Politehnica Bucharest calls for the relaunch of the Romanian space program

Romania must return to space research and assume an active role in international aerospace programs again, including by training future Romanian astronauts, said the rector of the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Mihnea Costoiu, at the opening of the 4th edition of SpaceFEST. The event, considered the largest festival dedicated to space exploration in Central and Eastern Europe, was organized by the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Polytechnic, in partnership with the Romanian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.

• "Space is no longer a distant destination”

The rector of the Polytechnic emphasized that the space field has become essential for modern life, influencing communications, navigation, environmental monitoring and security. "Space is no longer just a distant destination, but a vital field that influences our daily lives,” said Mihnea Costoiu. He recalled that, since the previous edition of the festival, Politehnica Bucharest launched the idea of relaunching the Romanian space program and training new astronauts. "We believed and sincerely believe that Romania must return to space research, including with humans, with human models. The Romanian astronaut must not remain, with all due respect, only the professor and ambassador Dumitru Prunariu,” said the rector.

• "Modest” government reaction

According to Mihnea Costoiu, the university is ready to get involved in the development of a national program dedicated to space research, but the reaction of the authorities has been "modest” so far. He specified that there have already been advanced discussions with American partners and institutions from the public and private sectors for the development of the "Romanian Astronaut” project. "We need to prepare Romania for this new stage and we want the Polytechnic to be part of this ecosystem," declared the rector.