Footprint in Space. Bulgarian Technologies in Research Missions

BNT Podcast – Business BG

Bulgaria has a long, though often underestimated, history in space exploration. From its participation in the Soviet space program and the achievements of the first Bulgarian cosmonauts, to its current involvement in European and international scientific and technological initiatives, the country is gradually finding its place in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

Today, space is no longer only the domain of state agencies and science fiction, but a complex ecosystem of technologies, business models, and innovations that directly affect our daily lives – from communications and navigation to the data used by industries and governments. It is in this context that the question becomes increasingly relevant: where does Bulgaria stand in the new space race, and what potential can it develop in the future?

Host: BNT Podcast Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen. You are watching another edition of Business BG. I am Nikolay Minkov. In the next minutes, you will be in the company of my colleague and friend Svetlyo Kostadinov. Today’s topic is “Footprint in Space. Bulgarian Technologies in Research Missions along the Path of the Stars and Space Tourism.”

Svetlyo: A topic in which Bulgaria has decades of history and tradition. Afterwards, we will talk with Dinko Manov, founder of Coding Space, and Maxim Behar, owner of a PR agency. Hello, gentlemen, and welcome.

Host: Good afternoon, thank you for accepting the invitation to participate in today’s edition of Business BG. It is a fact, as Svetlyo said, that Bulgaria has left a lasting footprint in space exploration. If we go back in time, the country actively participated in the Soviet space program, and currently also in the European space program and NASA programs. But where does Bulgaria stand today, Mr. Behar? You have the freshest impressions – you recently attended training with your wife at NASA. You will tell us in a moment about all the steps a person must go through to reach a spacecraft launch site and, possibly, eventually orbit. Hello, let’s begin.

Maxim: Bulgaria still has a lot to do, because our old glory of the two cosmonauts before 1989, which we had, was an internal glory within the former USSR and Bulgaria. The fact that we had two worthy representatives who were engaged in space and went into outer space is important. However, in recent years, this topic seems to have faded. Bulgaria is still not a member of the European Space Association, which is a major concern. I felt this when we were at the NASA base in Huntsville, Alabama. When we arrived with my wife, we were greeted by the Bulgarian flag, and we were extremely excited that our flag stood alongside many other flags of spacefaring nations. And we are a space nation. You know we even participate in the latest Artemis mission with cameras invented and operated by a fellow Bulgarian living in the United States.

It seems to me that now is the time for this topic to be widely told. We discussed this during our meeting with Vice President Iliana Yotova last week, who received us. We had more than one hour of conversation. The idea was to talk more about it. When we left the base, I told my wife – the only goal of our trip, apart from the incredible experiences, is to return to Bulgaria and say: if we managed to do it, anyone could do it. Anyone really can. Sitting here in central Sofia and talking about space training, centrifuges, and life in zero gravity – all of this sounds very frightening and unreachable. But at the same time, we have a government that we hope will be stable, and one of the important topics is for Bulgaria to become a member of the European Space Association and to start preparing a Bulgarian astronaut.

Host: Mr. Manov, your opinion?

Dinko: Space is no longer a dream; we see that it is becoming an increasingly practical part of our lives. It is critical infrastructure, just like electricity and the internet. What is happening – we wake up in the morning, turn on the TV, and information comes from satellites. We go to work, navigation – again satellites. Payments via phone – also satellites. The entire infrastructure is already going through space. Let me give another example. Space is becoming increasingly congested, with more objects in low Earth orbit. We are developing a system that monitors and provides space awareness. Imagine space as a huge road network without rules, signs, or traffic lights, where hundreds of thousands of objects move at speeds above 25,000 km/h. Our system analyzes this “road network” and provides information about dangers, risks, and deviations.

Host: Since you have already gone into specifics, let’s go even deeper. Few people in Bulgaria and in our audience, which is by no means below average and is rather elite due to the nature of our program, know that a space cluster has been operating in Bulgaria for years. What is it?

Dinko: We created the space cluster to build up this ecosystem that is only now starting to develop in Bulgaria. We have a good foundation with scientists and equipment that we must continue to develop and upgrade, but the foundation is there. We have talents and people who want to work in this field, and the space cluster is the bridge that will bring talents into successful realization in space. I would like to see more young people not leaving Bulgaria to work in space companies abroad but staying here and making these things happen in Bulgaria.

Host: Mr. Behar, in the past, especially with our first two astronauts, there was great interest among children in becoming astronauts. What is the perception of today’s youth about space and the opportunities it offers?

Maxim: This year, with the Atlantic Club, we are holding the fifth edition of the Hello Space Festival. We believe this is one of the most successful events, which generates great interest among children. These are school students, not even university students. Nearly one thousand children come to Sofia every year. We always have a real astronaut who talks to them, they take photos, ask questions, and he answers them. In addition, we always have a live connection with space provided by NASA, so children can ask astronauts questions in real time. This is an extremely important event that makes the space “fantasy” we see in movies and think is fiction much closer and real for Bulgarian children. We also have a wonderful planetarium, as everyone knows, in South Park.

Host: Few people know that, though.

Maxim: We took photos there two weeks ago, and it turned out that the planetarium is fully booked until the end of the year. This means there is a long waiting list, even for children from the town of Tran. Two or three buses came from there. There are plans to build new planetariums. In any case, this topic in Bulgaria is about to become even more popular, developed, and promoted. Because space has two sides. One is the so-called space cluster, where many scientists work – the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, many specialists, and practitioners. On the other side are the young people and children who have enormous interest in the topic. Who among us, when we were children, did not say we wanted to become astronauts? Everyone did. Perhaps because it represents something peak. We must talk about this a lot. Only after we completed our training at NASA’s Huntsville base did I realize how valuable it is to return and tell everyone that this is fully accessible. On the last day, we were even ready to leave. We had gone through so many trainings that we said – what are fifteen minutes from Earth to the space station? Those are fifteen minutes in which, if you are well trained, you can reach it. Of course, life there is completely different, but we went through everything – executing commands, watching the Artemis II launch live on tablets. I was shocked that those people were doing exactly what we were doing in the NASA base – the same commands, the same sequence, the same task distribution. The ground station we spent several days in, and the space station itself – everything is the same. So, all of this is already accessible and can be experienced. On the first day, one of the engineers asked where we were from. We said Bulgaria. And just as we were preparing to explain where Bulgaria is – after all, we were in Alabama, no one is required to know. He immediately said: Bulgaria – you have excellent scientists, particularly good engineers, children who win math Olympiads. That surprised us a lot. This image of Bulgaria among experts already exists, and we must develop it. Even during lectures on space food, we were told Bulgaria is among the major producers. At the same time, space is science, space is knowledge – not just emotion or challenge. There are many people working in this science. One successful Bulgarian company has a vast number of satellites. It is well recognized in America – EnduroSat. Many other people are engaged in this business. It seems to me that if the Bulgarian state has a more focused program to develop space science and send at least one astronaut, even just to begin training at NASA and later apply for a mission, it would be a huge promotion for Bulgaria and for this topic in the country.

Host: How should this happen? What is the path?

Maxim: Last year we had an astronaut at the Hello Space Festival, and when we asked him what qualities an astronaut must have, he said – to be a good storyteller. Nothing more. Anyone can become an astronaut if they pass physical training. But when they return, they must be able to tell their story so well that people are inspired. That is why it is important for all of us who have in some way touched this topic – we as amateurs, and here the gentlemen as professionals – to tell the story well. Bulgaria likely needs funding for a space program and a selection process. It is unlikely to happen through a private company – it must go through the state so that several astronaut candidates can be sent to NASA. I am sure – we were at the American ambassador last week, and we talked a lot about this topic. He received us in our astronaut suits. I am sure the United States and others can help us greatly to have our own astronauts. This could be like 1994, when all Bulgarians were united and enthusiastic about the World Cup in the USA – to unite around this wonderful topic again.

Svetlyo: There was such an idea in 2024, when former Innovation Minister Milena Stoycheva said that preparation for a third Bulgarian astronaut was underway. But where did that preparation go?

Maxim: I have no information. I know her well and we have spoken to each other many times, but I have not seen this happening publicly.

Host: Next time you meet her, you can ask her what happened to this idea and whether it was passed on to her successors, since the governments were short-lived.

Maxim: She is no longer a minister and probably wanted to do the best she could.

Host: But the question is whether this can become state policy, and whether you, Mr. Behar, as a communication expert, and you, Mr. Manov, as a business representative, are ready to meet the new authorities.

Maxim: I will meet Mr. Radev if he becomes Prime Minister. I would tell him about what we experienced at NASA, the training process, the attitude toward Bulgaria, and the desire for this topic to become a focus of a ministry, for example the Ministry of Innovation.

Dinko: I had the opportunity to speak with him at an event. I was part of the Bulgarian delegation at the Three Seas Forum. He has a strong interest in space and its connection to defense because space has dual use – both civilian and military. In addition to Artemis II, we observed it from Earth with our telescopes. We monitored the mission for about half an hour and analyzed its trajectory.

Host: Let me ask you – apart from food, where we are a leading producer of space food, and apart from commercial satellites and EnduroSat, where is the strength of Bulgarian business and scientific potential?

Dinko: Business is starting to move in that direction, but space is still not fully commercialized. Infrastructure is developing quickly but is not yet at a level for mass use. Entering space business requires a clear strategy and connection with space agencies. Bulgaria is part of the PECS program but is still not an associate member of the European Space Agency. Many projects happen through ESA collaboration. This is what we are working on in the Bulgarian Space Cluster – helping startups overcome the first barrier and enter consortia and collaborations for space programs.

Maxim: So, space itself is still not really commercialized. However, in the preparation of space missions and in the development of all the accompanying technologies, there is a huge amount of business for Bulgarian companies, because our engineers are extraordinarily strong and innovative. We all know about the substantial number of young people working in Redmond at Microsoft headquarters. And when Bulgaria is mentioned, it is already known everywhere that these are some of the best engineers. I have been several times to CERN in Switzerland, where the Bulgarian group of scientists is placed in a large hall labeled “Bulgaria” or “Bulgarian Team,” and the name of our country is pronounced with profound respect. This shows that in Bulgaria there could be clusters and businesses that develop and promote real value creation and profit from things that one day turn into science. Together with the Atlantic Club and Mr. Pasi, we would like to create something like a mini camp or training camp, like what we saw at the NASA center in Alabama. We already have such an idea at Sofia Tech Park. I met with the management of the NASA center, and they are ready to provide knowledge. They also have one similar practice outside the USA – in Izmir, Turkey, where there is a NASA-licensed center, and many Bulgarian children go there. This is an extremely strong program. The idea of the center at Sofia Tech Park is not to be just a place with simulators, but a real training environment for children and young people. We have even had a few hours of training on an F-16 simulator, which could easily be developed in Bulgaria as well. After the Hello Space festival on July 26, we plan to sit down and start discussions both with the government and the private sector. The project requires funding, but there is interest and it can become a business. We have also discussed Sofia Tech Park. There are preliminary talks and enough space that can be used. If not there, the center could be built between Sofia and Plovdiv. The location is not decisive. What matters is partnership, access to know-how, and the involvement of Bulgarian scientific organizations and experts. Funding can be found, and the project could even be profitable. The state would likely also participate. When we returned from training at NASA, I spoke with the Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov. He told me that we had done everything he had done in space, but on Earth. This was the highest evaluation of the program. That an astronaut who had done it in orbit saw that we had replicated it on Earth. Everyone can do it since Maxim and Veneta managed to do it. Every single person in Bulgaria can go through such training. It is enough to have interest and to join. I encourage anyone interested to visit our website, just as I did. I was thinking about what birthday gift to have. I did not want thirty bottles of wine, or fifteen paintings, or sixty whiskey sets, or similar gifts. I thought where, what, what, what, what. One of my children said, “So now you even want to go to space?” And I said, “Wait, wait, that’s not a bad idea.” From my mobile phone, I found the NASA base, we applied, filled out all questionnaires, sent all our medical examinations and everything else. And in the end, they told us: come.

Host: You are opening the topic of space tourism. Let’s talk about this commercial niche. Yes, we are not leaders in this area. The Americans are the huge force with their three projects. But can Bulgaria still participate in space tourism?

Dinko: In technology, the size of the country does not matter. There are many companies that have succeeded from small countries: Israel, Luxembourg, Norway. These are small countries that worked consistently with a developed space strategy and achieved successful results. And in general, not only in space. We have a path and a place in every area and every sphere of space. Bulgaria can also be part of space tourism and other directions. While observing space and what people in the cluster discuss, there are different directions. Space is made up of technologies, companies, and engineering sectors that deal mostly with infrastructure. But increasingly, the software side of space is emerging, and how software is adapted and applied to real space tasks. One example is satellite images of Earth. These images provide extremely valuable information for agriculture, urban infrastructure, ports, transport, and many different scenarios. The analysis and information collected from satellites toward Earth is now an advanced field. Bulgaria already has several companies working in this area, analyzing data and adding significant information.

Svetlyo: You mentioned Luxembourg, which reminds me that they are focused on extracting rare metals from space objects. Should Bulgaria have a similar strategic goal when it comes to developing space technologies, science, and industry?

Dinko: It is important to have directions because working in space requires collaboration. In space, you cannot operate alone as a single unit. It is a connected chain. If you launch satellites or develop equipment for satellites in orbit, it is a lengthy process of development, testing, and trial missions. Only after time does it become operational. Collaboration and national-level support are extremely important.

Host: You said that with your telescopes you observe satellite positions, trajectories, and manage traffic. However, space pollution is becoming an increasingly critical issue. With hundreds and thousands of launches, near-orbit space is becoming increasingly polluted with debris. Do you see a niche here where Bulgarian companies, including yours, could participate in identifying the most polluted areas? Can you offer solutions?

Dinko: It is a fact that only 4% of all objects in space are well identified. The remaining 96% are not clearly defined. There is a lot of room for activity in this field. In addition to telescopes, we use from Earth, which observe and analyze data, telescopes can be optical, radar, and other technologies also apply. We have seen that Bulgarian scientists and talents develop interesting low-level solutions. The Bulgarian company with cameras placed on Artemis-2 is a particularly good example. In our field of space observation, there is a lot of room for development. Besides ground equipment and telescopes, software must analyze all information, recognize objects, and provide key data to ensure a safe environment. We plan to expand this network. We currently have around twenty telescopes in various locations worldwide. Bulgaria does not yet have such a telescope, and our vision is to equip Bulgaria with such infrastructure so we can join the European observation system. Our path to Europe is open, and the programs are open.

Maxim: Bulgaria’s participation in such projects does not have to happen only through cooperation with other countries. The core idea of space science is that no country can do it alone not the USA, Japan, China, Israel, or any other major space nation. There are currently two Russian astronauts on the American space station who have been there for 2–3 months. On Earth we sometimes cannot get along, unfortunately due to wars, but in space there is cooperation, partnership, and exchange of knowledge. It is important that Bulgaria joins European or global projects instead of trying to develop everything alone. This can significantly advance Bulgarian space science. It is not necessary to invest one hundred million euros immediately; this can happen gradually through partnerships. There are no small or big countries in this science. At CES in Las Vegas, startup halls are 50% Israeli companies, 30% Swiss companies, and 20% others. These small countries are extremely agile and innovative. Bulgaria has all the conditions to be among them young, intelligent, well-educated, ambitious people. I have never seen so many capable and driven people anywhere else in Europe.

Host: You constantly say that Bulgarian science and education are already beyond our borders. You mentioned CERN. But is Bulgarian education lagging in high-tech fields?

Maxim: Education is no longer only in universities. People learn from digital products, social media, podcasts, and everywhere. Theory moves at 20 km/h, practice at 100 km/h. The solution is stronger connection between business and education, including high schools and universities, so young people understand their goals early and are motivated to achieve them.

Host: Finally, how will the space industry develop given global geopolitical tensions?

Dinko: Europe is at a crossroads whether to rely on external systems or build internal sovereignty. The UK is increasingly looking toward Europe. Europe is moving toward developing its own systems and reducing external dependence. Even our space observation solution is used by the UK Ministry of Defense. This shows there is opportunity for Bulgaria within European collaboration.

Maxim: Space science has always had a military aspect since the 1950s. But cooperation must continue despite geopolitical tensions. Scientists and engineers should maintain and expand their relations.

Host: Thank you for this conversation.

Maxim: We expect an interview with the first Bulgarian astronaut.

Host: If we are still on air, we will gladly do it. Thank you for being with us. Goodbye.

 You can watch the whole podcast here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/439/sleda-v-kosmosa-balgarski-tehnologii-v-izsledovatelskite-misii