People have been stargazing from times immemorial, but only few have made it to the stars, travelling in the outer space. Three of them have attended SPACE FEST, the largest event in Romania dedicated to the exploration of the outer space and the opportunities it has to offer, hosted by the Polytechnic University in Bucharest, between June the 11th and 13th.<\/b><\/p>\n
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The three astronauts who have shared their stories with the public at SPACE FEST have been Dumitru Prunariu, the first and only Romanian to travel in the outer space, Nicole Stott, NASA Astronaut, Aquanaut & Artist, who spent 104 days in space and the tenth woman in the world to travel into the outer space, as well as founder of the Space for Art Foundation and Sara Sabry, the first and only astronaut from the African continent to fly into space, in 2022, with Blue Origin.<\/p>\n
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They have been joined by other keynote speakers such as Mihnea Costoiu, Rector of the Polytechnic University in Bucharest, Daniel-Eugeniu Crun\u021beanu, the Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Martin McDowell, Charg\u00e9 d’affaires, the US Embassy in Romania, Mircea Geoana, NATO Deputy Secretary General (virtual address) and Valentin Silivestru, Director General of the Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI.<\/p>\n
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The agenda of the festival has included presentations of top notch projects in the field, such as \u201cTecha Space Elevator, \u201cHexarion, \u201cBeyond Stars, Sias space habitat, GAMES OF SCIENCE, astronomy lessons by outstanding Romanian astronomers such as Adrian Sonka from the Vasile Urseanu Astronomic Observatory, workshops, prize winning contests and relevant activities for kids and students.<\/p>\n
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Other highlights of SPACE FEST have been panel talks, Q&A sessions and a press conference, giving experts, journalists and the public at large the chance to meet outstanding personalities in the field and last but not least, the one who has made SPACE FEST possible, Christina Korp, who has given an exclusive interview to RRIs Eugen Cojocariu.<\/p>\n
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