Romania in Space Race

The strong wind postponed for more than once the Demonstrator 2B shuttle launch.

The military polygon in Midia Cape, September 8 2004, a test shuttle, 4 meters high and 300 kilograms heavy shuttle waits to rise up in the sky. The Romanian Association for Astronomy and Aeronautics (RAAA) team hardly waits for the Demonstrator 2B shuttle launch. Initially programmed for 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the launch has been postponed for four times due to the wind on the Midia platform.

CONSEQUENCES. If the shuttle built by the team of young engineers successfully takes-off this will be the first functional Romanian built shuttle. Once this obstacle passed, the RAAA team is one step closer to building the first Romanian shuttle designed to transport a man in the cosmic space: Orizont, 14 meters high and 7,000 kilograms heavy.

The one who initiated this project is a 27-year-old engineer, Dumitru Popescu, former theology student. A young man that, when 3 years old, frightened his teacher by coming at the kindergarten dressed as an aviator, a costume carefully made by an aunt of his, but inspired from little Titel’s imagination, who was interested in space shuttles, planes, flights, astronauts.

PASSION. A Romanian team "hidden" somewhere between Valcea and Dragasani starts working in 1998 at spatial projects, beginning with 500 USD. After scores of sleepless nights, they created an international event, judging from the impressive number of foreign journalists. Televisions from Germany and Austria: Stuttgart Zeitung, ART (Austria) the team from the Deutsche Welle radio station, BBC correspondents. The old reports from CNN can be added to that. This is also a legend: the RAAA story started after a visit of some Aerospace students at the "Herman Oberth" Museum in Sibiu. The team led by Dumitru Popescu convinced companies like Rompetrol and Oltchim to sponsor shuttle building that, after many years of hard work, would get to the versions Demonstrator 2B and Orizont. If Demonstrator is almost at the end of the road, for Orizont, the present funds are not sufficient…

COMPETITION. The story does not stop here. Checking the propulsive system of Demonstrator 2B (with ecological, reusable engine, a world premiere) secures the RAAA team’s participation in the great International Cupa Xprize contest that is to start in 2005 in New Mexico, USA. A top competition where a few more teams invited by the Xprize organizers will be also present. But what’s Xprize? An American foundation which will award a 10 million USD prize to the team to build with private funds a space shuttle capable to reach an 100 kilometers altitude with three men aboard or the respective weight.