Bulgarian scientists applaud growing space cooperation with China

Space experts in Bulgaria emphasized their growing cooperation with China at an event held at the Space Research and Technology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (SRTI-BAS) in Sofia on Wednesday.

Georgi Jelev, director of SRTI-BAS, and the institute's acting Scientific Secretary Georgi Sotirov, made the remarks while addressing an Open Day event dedicated to the International Day of Human Space Flight.

Alongside working with the European Space Agency and NASA, Jelev said, the institute also has partnerships with Chinese scientific organizations, including a project planning to build lunar bases.

Noting that a memorandum of cooperation was signed in 2013 between SRTI-BAS and an institute in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, in southern China, Sotirov said the institute has been participating in research on the possibilities for using unmanned aerial vehicles in urban environments.

"This also paved the way for better collaboration with the China National Space Administration," Sotirov said.

SRTI-BAS has signed an agreement to participate in joint projects with the China National Space Administration, and is cooperating with space research by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he added.

According to Sotirov, a model of the China Space Station is on display at the institute.