Prunariu was speaking to Arab News during a break in the executive committee meeting of the ASE which began in Riyadh on Thursday.
Speaking about Prince Sultan, Prunariu said he is the main promoter of this grand event and he had magnanimously accepted to host the forthcoming event.
Prince Sultan, founder member of the ASE, is also the chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. From June 17-24, 1985, Prince Sultan made history by becoming the first (and to date, only) Saudi astronaut, as well as being the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first person from the Middle East to go into space.
He served as a payload specialist aboard the American space shuttle Discovery to launch the satellite ARABSAT-1B during the trip. Prince Sultan spent seven days, one hour, and 38 minutes in space, and circled the earth 111 times. During the flight, he became the first person to offer Islamic prayers and read the Qur’an outside of the earth’s atmosphere.
Explaining the decisions made during the first half of the meeting, Prunariu said the event will be held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He said King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) will be the hosting institution in the Kingdom.
During the committee meeting, KACST President Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel made a presentation about the activities of his organization to the astronauts. Other committee members who were present at the Thursday meeting included Alexander Alexandrov from Moscow, Karol “Bo” Bobko from New York, Rein Ewald from Germany, Soichi Noguchi from Kanagawa in Japan, Richard Richards from Florida, Victor Savinykh from the Russian city of Berezkiny and Charles Walker from Indiana.
Speaking further, Prunariu said the last congress was held in Moscow in 2011. He recalled that the Vth Planetary Congress of the ASE was held in Riyadh in 1989.
Prunariu works for the Romanian Space Agency as an expert within the Airspace Consulting Association. He was elected chairman of the UN committee on the peaceful uses of outer space (COPUOS) for the period of June 2010 to June 2012. He also serves as president of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) and ASE Europe. Prunariu is co-author of several books on space technology and space flight and has published numerous scientific papers. His Ph.D. thesis produced new developments in the field of space flight dynamics. Prunariu earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the University Politehnica of Bucharest.
Discussing the program of the forthcoming congress in Riyadh , the chairman of the committee said the theme of the congress will be: “Space technology for a knowledge-based society.”
“More than 100 astronauts and cosmonauts from all parts of the globe will participate in the conference with their wives,” Prunariu said. He added that there are some 350 space explorers in 35 countries in the world. “So far, 525 people have traveled to space,” he said.
Among the other subjects that will be discussed during the three-day meeting are finalizing the program of the event during the period of the conference, approving Crystal Helmet nominee and also approve nominees for Leonov Medallion, completing the community day program and drawing up programs for field visits by the participants.
He explained that that the Crystal Helmet nominee is invariably awarded to a personality in the host country, who had contributed immensely to space science and technology.
“In our community programs, we will interact with students and youths in the host country to create an interest among them to learn space technology,” he said, adding that ASE seeks to stimulate interest in science and mathematics and inspire in students a life-long commitment to educational excellence. “ASE provides opportunities for its members to share their knowledge and experiences with the general public, and in particular with tomorrow’s leaders — the world’s children,” he stressed.
Today, the ASE committee members led by Prunariu, will visit the KACST headquarters in Riyadh where the visiting team will hold discussions about the congress with Prince Sultan bin Salman, Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammad Al-Saud, KACST vice president for research institutes, and Al-Suwaiyel.
As the only professional association for space fliers, ASE supports the advancement of space exploration by providing opportunities for communication among space professionals at international level. It works closely with other space organizations to expand and invigorate international dialogue on issues such as crew safety, operational compatibility and the potential hazards of near earth objects. It regularly sponsors international discussions among astronauts and cosmonauts on space flight operations.
ASE is represented by over 350 space fliers from 35 different countries, including Afghanistan, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.