Quarter of a century has passed since the launch of the spaceship Soyuz-33 with the Soviet space-pilot Nikolay Rukavishnikov and the first Bulgarian astronaut Georgi Ivanov on board.

On April 15, 2004, this great Bulgarian received from President Georgi Parvanov the highest Bulgarian distinction, Stara Planina Order, and again modestly said: “I perceive this flight not as my personal achievement but an achievement of Bulgaria, of Bulgarian science, of the Bulgarian scientists and experts.”

The marking of the anniversary started on April 15 in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with the opening of an exhibition showing the development of the Bulgarian astronautics.