The four Hungarian astronaut candidates—Gyula Cserényi, Tibor Kapu, Ádám Schlégl, and András Szakály—were on Hungarian public radio on Sunday afternoon to discuss their preparation within the framework of the Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) Hungarian astronaut programme.
During the broadcast, it was mentioned that all four candidates will be able to participate in the third training phase. In the first phase, they familiarized themselves with the history of space exploration, the activities of space agencies, and the mission. Then, in the second phase, they gained insights into the scientific disciplines necessary for the journey, such as cosmology, geology, rocket physics, and physiology.
In the third phase of the training, the candidates will acquire profession-specific knowledge, such as about the International Space Station, and they will also become involved in research and development work. All four have already obtained their private pilot licenses, conducted aerobatic flight exercises in November, participate in swimming training as part of their physical preparation, and their diet is monitored by a dietitian.
They will soon travel to the United States, where further training awaits them.
One of the most important aspects will be centrifuge training, during which they will simulate the exact forces experienced by humans during launch. Additionally, they will become familiar with the modules and equipment of the space station using a life-sized model, and they will also be trained in first aid in the microgravity environment.
It was also revealed in the programme that they will soon begin to practise the scientific experiments planned for their thirty-day stay in space. Some of these experiments recently concluded their application process, so the decision on who of the four candidates will be selected for the space flight is still ongoing.
The HUNOR–Hungarian Astronaut Programme started its two-year training last March with a physician and three engineers in Hungary’s newly established professional astronaut corps. The goal of the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Programme is to send a Hungarian research astronaut to the International Space Station, to carry out primarily Hungarian-developed scientific experiments for nearly a month.
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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/Kossuth Radio/MTI
