The first astronaut of Bulgaria, Lieutenant-General Georgi Ivanov: I would fly again

Humankind dreamt of reaching the stars since it saw them for the first time. Every one, at least once in his life, has flied in space on the wings of his dream. Did the little boy from Lovech have this dream?
As a boy I read books about long sea expeditions, I dreamt of becoming a sailor. But in the year I wanted to apply for admission in the Nakhimovo Naval School it was closed down. That was after 7th grade. I went to high school and took up parachutism courses at a flying club in Lovech. Later I went in for gliding and motor-gliding. At that time the word Cosmos did not exist. I enrolled in Georgi Benkovski Air Force Academy.

I was in second year when on April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin made a round of the Earth. As young cadets, we did not believe a Bulgarian could fly in space before the end of the 20th century.

Yet your dream took you to the Star Town outside Moscow?
In fact, I started dreaming of a space flight when a selection started in Bulgaria and out of several hundred candidates only four of us remained. And subsequently – only Alexander Alexandrov and I. On March 20, 1978, we started training in the Star Town near Moscow.

You are the 91st citizen of the Earth who flew to the stars. Do you remember how you felt taking off from the Earth? How did our planet, the Cosmos, the Dream strike you?
A nice feeling. But we also had specific duties and the responsibility was great. Space is infinite and the Earth is beautiful, fragile and little.

The Dream, yes, I am a lucky guy because many excellent Bulgarian pilots could have been in my stead.

Is there higher power, higher intelligence?
Maybe. In any case up there I did not see it and none of my colleagues has seen it.

How did you take the accident with your ship?
Naturally there was tension on board. Although on Earth we had practiced hundreds of times this “disastrous” situation, we had to mobilize our whole psychic energy to cope with it. Nikolay Rukavishnikov was an example for me. In fact, this was his third flight in space.

Today you are down to the earth. You have a business, Air Sofia, and a golf links. Tell us about them.
Yes, I am engaged in business, but I continue to learn, it is not an easy job. Near Ihtiman we built the first golf links in Bulgaria. I am often asked, what does golf have to do with aviation? I usually quote the great golf players: “In golf you play against yourself and to win you have to overcome your own insecurity.” This is absolutely valid for the pilot’s profession, too. The green loan resembles the sky, only that the sky is blue and infinite. I would add that tolerance, ethics, purposefulness are a must for this sport, so you see what a wonderful sport it is. I am chairman of the Golf Federation in Bulgaria and I am learning intensively.

The ordinary things?
Like any man I have a large and united family. I wish my children to be healthy and to find good professional fulfillment. I dream of seeing my grandchildren grown up.

Did the meeting with your fellow astronauts and the 25th anniversary bring back any old, a little forgotten big dream?
It is simply not forgotten. I would fly again! Didn’t John Glenn fly in space at the age of 77? So there is still time to make this dream come true.

Ekaterina Pavlova