"Bulgaria is the world‘s sixth space country, which gives us cause for pride", the Commander of the Bulgarian Air Force Major General Dimitar Petrov said on the occasion of the World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. 

"Bulgaria is the third country in the world after Russia and the United States that produces space food, which is also a cause for pride. We are also proud of the contribution of Bulgarian scientists to the development of space equipment and the flights of Bulgarian astronauts Georgi Ivanov and Aleksandar Aleksandrov. Aviation and astronautics are intrinsically linked and Bulgaria's achievements in these fields are a testament to the high professionalism and skills of the Bulgarian military pilots, of all the specialists who work in complete harmony to achieve better and better results, for the triumph of science and human achievement”, Major General Dimitar Petrov said.