At first, I felt rather ambivalent about being chosen as the research astronaut for the mission. On the one hand, it is a huge honor, but on the other hand, the fellow candidates and I worked hard for more than a year for a goal that they could not reach now. After the decision, I was somewhat in a strange mood, and that evening I went to see my family in Nyiregyhaza to tell them the news in person. From that moment on, I was overwhelmed with happiness, Tibor Kapu, the selected research astronaut for the Hunor (Hungarian to Orbit) program, told Magyar Nemzet.
Gyula Cserenyi, selected as the reserve research astronaut, talked about the selection process, saying that after hearing the result, he felt a little sad because he came second, but all of that was overcome by a feeling of success and pride.
I waited outside for the others, because we agreed to wait for each other after the announcement of the results. Tibor Kapu came out second and told me that he is the astronaut for the mission. I was truly happy about his success and delighted that I can continue working with him,
Gyula Cserenyi highlighted.
Proud families
The decision deeply stirred the emotions of the two astronauts' families, with Tibor Kapu saying that his parents were filled with pride mixed with worry.
My mother is more worried than proud, and my father is obviously the prouder, because he thinks it's really cool that his son is the one who can go up to the space station,
Tibor Kapu said, adding that the past 14 months have been extremely stressful not only for them but also for their families.
It was no different in Gyula Cserenyi's family, with the reserve research astronaut saying that the past more than one year period has been demanding for them as well. His second child was born during this time, so they also faced many challenges.
Years of training
Speaking about the training process and their experiences, they said they never encounter any difficulties that would made them give up. They enjoyed the long hours of learning, the hard physical training, and the specific training elements, which were often difficult.
Perhaps the hardest moment was when we met with the other candidates in March 2022 and saw that there were a lot of incredibly competent people applying for the job,
Tibor Kapu added. He then pointed out that when only the four selected candidates were left in the program, he realized that he was not competing with his colleagues, but with himself.
Basically, our more general training elements were about acquiring theoretical knowledge, followed by a lot of physical training, flying and isolation exercises, which were all very intense and demanding,
Gyula Cserenyi said, adding that each phase of the training had its challenges, difficulties and beauties.
The two astronauts will soon continue their learning process in the United States, where they will complete a mission-specific training over a period of eight to ten months, Tibor Kapu said.
A very big part of this is about familiarizing the four astronauts who will share the space capsule with the most important structures, elements, modules and, of course, emergency procedures of the International Space Station,
Tibor Kapu highlighted.
Regarding further training, Gyula Cserenyi explained that as a reserve astronaut, his training will be largely identical to the training Tibor Kapu will receive, but at the same time, his reserve duties include participation in ground control, so he must be fully prepared to perform these tasks as well.
The work of an astronaut in space must be constantly supported. There are tools for this and protocols to follow. I'm going to get that side of the training too,
he explained.
In the spotlight
Increased media attention is also a challenge. After the two research astronauts had been picked, they were flooded with interview requests, with everyone wanting to know who Tibor Kapu and Gyula Cserenyi are.
It's invigorating to have so many people interested in you. We're happy to respond to the requests. We've been guests on four radio shows recently. We entered the studio and everyone we met, the presenters, the crew looked at us with a shine in their eyes. And these interviews always turned into a good conversation,
said Tibor Kapu, adding that the past week and a half can be described as a media rush without any exaggeration.
Gyula Cserenyi, the reserve astronaut, considers himself to be the more reserved of the two of them, but despite this, he did not experience the high media attention as an ordeal.
It's great to see so much interest and support. Many people know why it is a fantastic thing that we can test the products, researches and experiments of Hungarian researchers in an environment that they probably would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise within five to ten years,
he said, stressing that the Hunor program gives a huge boost to Hungary's space industry.
Five research areas
The two research astronauts also spoke about the tasks to be done on the International Space Station: the primary goal of the Hunor program is to carry out Hungarian experiments in space.
Hungarian companies, universities, and research teams are behind the experiments. Some projects have started to germinate even before the start of the program. What we usually say is that these are the experiments that brought the program to life,
Tibor Kapu said, adding that dozens of experiments had been submitted to the Hunor program by various organisations by the deadline last December. The selected plans go through a process overseen by NASA to check whether they are suitable for implementation and safe enough to be carried out on the space station.
Gyula Cserenyi pointed out that the program builds on five basic experiments, mainly related to plant cultivation, building material foaming, medical diagnostics, telemedicine and radiation measurement.
All of these are very important, because they can produce results that can later affect everyday life,
Cserenyi said.
Since its launch, the Hunor program has been criticized by various public figures, who argued that Hungary is too small to be seriously represented in the space race, and instead of training astronauts and space industry professionals, the focus should be put on some other areas.
