The only Hungarian astronaut: Bertalan Farkas

42 years ago today, Hungary was the seventh nation to send a person into space. Brigadier Bertalan Farkas was the first-ever Hungarian man to leave Earth’s exosphere. He was the first and only Hungarian astronaut, and on May 26th, we commemorate the day he left for space. He spent an unforgettable week on the Salyut 6 orbital space station in 1980. 

While we celebrate the day of astronautics and space on April 12th, the day Bertalan Farkas became the first Hungarian to enter the cosmos is equally important. Generations of Hungarians know his name and celebrate him as a legend. He wrote his name in Hungarian history books back then, and he will certainly be known for many decades to come.

About his life

He was born in 1949 in the eastern Hungarian town of Gyulaháza. He was a diligent student with a great passion for football and sports. When the time came though, he chose to attend the Aeronautical College in Szolnok and join the Hungarian Air Force. Following his passion for flying, later, in 1976, he became a first-class fighter pilot. From 1949, Hungary was under the control of the USSR, and thus, when he decided to become an astronaut, he joined the Interkosmos program designed to help the Soviet Union’s allies to get their astronauts to space.