European astronauts meet in Bratislava

Up to fifteen European astronauts will meet in Bratislava on Wednesday at an international event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the arrival of Slovak cosmonaut Ivan Bella in space. "This is a unique event that has not happened before in the Slovak Republic," said Bella, who organised the event. On February 20, 1999, cosmonaut Ivan Bella, then 34 years old, launched into space aboard a Soyuz TM-29 spacecraft, as part of the Štefánik Space Mission. Flying with him were colleagues from Russia and France. Two days later, they joined the Mir space station 350 kilometers above the earth. While aboard the space station Bella carried out scientific research in six areas, including the raising of quails in space. He returned to Earth on February 28, landing successfully in Kazakhstan.