Head of State takes part in opening ceremony of International Space Congress

The space industry in Belarus is developing steadily. President Alexander Lukashenko announced this at the opening ceremony of the 31st International Congress of the Association of Space Flight Participants.

The representative forum has started its work in Minsk. Legendary cosmonauts and astronauts from 18 countries, high foreign guests, diplomats, representatives of space agencies, Belarusian scientists and engineers take part in the congress. Welcoming the guests, Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the special status of the event.

Today there are about 90 space powers in the world, Belarus is among them. 565 people took part in the flights. More than a thousand satellites revolve around the earth. The names of Belarusian scientists and cosmonauts are inscribed in the history of the space era. Veterans of orbital flights Pyotr Klimuk and Vladimir Kovalenok, participant of the last expeditions to the ISS Oleg Novitsky are our fellow countrymen.

Oleg Artemiev, who is now at the orbital station, has Belarusian roots as well. The congress participants received a video greeting from the crew of the International Space Station from the Earth's orbit.

The First Person in the open space Alexei Leonov painted the nature of native places. The picture is a symbolic gift to the President in the year of Small Motherland.

In the coming days, Minsk will become a platform for discussion of global issues such as the development of space research in the world, the role of the Association of Space Flight Participants in the development of manned space exploration and Belarus' contribution to space exploration.

For details watch Panorama today.