Bulgarian Space Agency
| Acronym | SRTI-BAS (ИКИТ-БАН) |
|---|---|
| Owner |
 Bulgaria
|
| Established | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Website | http://www.space.bas.bg/ |
The Space Research and Technology Institute (Bulgarian: Институт за космически изследвания и технологии) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is one of the primary research bodies in the field of space science in Bulgaria.
The organized participation of Bulgarian scientists in space research started in 1969 with the creation of a Scientific Group of Space Physics (SGSP) at the Presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 1974, based on the SGSP, the Central Laboratory for Space Research (CLSR) was founded. The Space Research and Technology Institute (SRTI) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences succeeded the Central Laboratory for Space Research in 1987. Under the reform carried out at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, by a Resolution of the General Assembly of the BAS of 23 March 2010, the Space Research Institute (SRI) and the Solar-Terrestrial Influences Institute (STII) merged to form a new unit – the Space and Solar-Terrestrial Research Institute at the BAS (SSTRI–BAS) renamed in 2012 to Space Research and Technology Institute (SRTI).
Bulgarian scientists successfully participated in the Intercosmos program, preparing experiments and designing equipment for several satellites and rockets. In 1979, the first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov flew in space on board of Soyuz 33. In 1981 two satellites were launched - Bulgaria 1300 and Meteor-Priroda 2-4 (Meteor 1-31), furnished entirely with Bulgarian equipment, aimed at studying the ionospheric-magnetospheric relationship and remote sensing of the Earth from space. In 1988 the second Bulgarian cosmonaut Alexandar Alexsandrov flew on board Soyuz TM-5 to the Mir space station. Teams from SRTI-BAS took part in the international projects "Vega 1 and 2" (1984) – for realization of the project "Venus-Halley's Comet", "Active" (1989) – for determination of the electrostatic field around a satellite, the development of apparatus "FREGAT" (1989) – which transmit images of the Phobos satellite of Mars, within the "Phobos" Program. In the Institute was created the space greenhouse "SVET", with which successful experiments were carried out by Russian and American astronauts, including the cultivation of plants from "seed to seed" of the Space Station (SS) "MIR". Until 2001 on board of the "MIR" SS worked and the system for complex physiological study of astronauts "NEVROLAB-B" and "R-400" radiometer to obtain data on the parameters of the Earth's surface. The Institute is actively included in competitions on the 6th, 7th and Horizon 2020 framework programmes of the EU, PHARE programmes, NATO, etc.
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