Virgin Galactic company has conducted its first commercial mission into suborbital space with the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. (Virgin Galactic launches first commercial spaceflight (spacedaily.com)) The flight began on June 29, 2023 at 11 a.m. EDT (16:00 GMT) from Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA. (Home | Virgin Galactic) The mission involved two pilots and four passengers: Pantaleone Carlucci, an engineer at the National Research Council of Italy, Colin Bennett, an astronaut instructor at Virgin Galactic, Colonel Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force, and Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, a doctor from the Italian Air Force. Virgin Galactic calls this mission Galactic 01. It is a joint research study of the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy called "Virtute 1". The mission [...]

A celebration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bulgaria's proclamation as a space state was held in “Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall of the Academy. The Space Research and Technology Institute (SRTI) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was the organizer of the event which took place under the patronage of President Rumen Radev. For us, space is an expression of the ambitions of a nation where it positions itself in terms of human progress and the future of humanity, President Rumen Radev said in his greetings at the solemn celebration. It is a tribute to the pioneers, 50 years ago, that they positioned Bulgaria at the forefront of human progress, the Head of State said. We can only also be proud of [...]