posted 04-05-2012 01:25 PM               

Bulgarian cosmonauts were present on two spaceflight missions:

• Soyuz 33 in 1979
  
• Soyuz T5 in 1988

posted 05-17-2012 12:40 PM               

Obviously, one's gotta be a die-hard fan of aviation (and space) to go there. When I arrive, there is plenty of staff heading to the airport offices from the back door service entry, but no one heading to the museum. Only when I leave an elderly lady with a small boy enters the compound, clearly because the boy wanted to go there.

Obviously, I am looking for Georgi Ivanov's Soyuz 33 spacecraft. It is not difficult to find. When I enter the main hall, it is right opposite the entry door, together with the parachute that brought it back to Earth safely. Not a done deal in April 1979 when the flight took place - the mission failed miserably, the spacecraft could not dock to the Salyut 6 space station, and returned to Earth in a fierce ballistic entry, almost killing the two man crew of Nikolai Rukavizhnikov and Georgi Ivanov.

The outer skin looks a bit burnt, but all Soyuz return capsules look this way. There is just a short signpost relating to the mission and the fact that this is Georgi Ivanov's spacecraft, but no further explanation of the mission. On the left side of the exhibit, two glass containers show Ivanov's space suit and a training suit. On the right hand side, a whole range of space food is presented. And that is it.

Right after my entering the building, a slim moustached guy in his 50s comes out of a corridor, clearly heading for lunch. Whether I wanted to visit the museum, he asks. Yes, I confirm, and that costs me 5 Leva for a ticket, about $2.50. Hadn't he headed for lunch, I doubt anyone would have noticed my presence. We briefly chat about where I come from and why I'm here. He remembers an Arado aircraft of 1946 in the German Museum at Munich and asks where the German cosmonaut's space craft had ended up. In the same German Museum he mentioned, I reply. After it had first been shown at the Dresde Military Museum. Then he heads of - nice fella, but our conversation was a bit hindered by the fact that my Bulgarian is about as good as his English. I keep strolling over the open air exhibit. Plenty of old MiG's and Antonov's, a batch of MIL and other helicopters, all in urgent need of some color and repair.

Oh, by the way, the museum gentleman mentioned, later this year the museum would host an exhibit commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Bulgarian Air Force. He points to the room next door. There is nothing in there as yet, just a few wooden structures, and the door is sealed off. The Bulgarian Air Museum has clearly seen better days throughout its history.

posted 05-31-2012 09:31 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by eurospace:
Pictures will come...

---