”Since I was a kid I have dreamed to fly. I was closing my eyes and felt like floating over mountains, valleys, discovering new worlds. The deep abyss and the infinite height have always fascinated me. Finally, I got to fly in space. Accomplished dreams are like a circle of light on the life tree, a beneficial irradiation. In the outer space, your familiar universe is no longer house, street, neighbours, but the home planet itself. The Earth, besides its physical dimension, which you may directly appreciate at its true value and grandeur, also has a moral dimension. From a cosmic flight you return more confident with yourself, more mature, closer to people and nature, with a more comprehensive vision on terrestrial phenomena and activities. Although you are not alone in the spacecraft, the loneliness up there is a strong feeling. You feel suddenly torn apart from your natural habitat, where you were born and raised.” (Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu)

• Born in the city of Brașov, Romania, on 27 September 1952.
• Graduated Liceul de Cultură Generală nr. 4 High School (currently the “Grigore Moisil” National College)
• In 1976 he graduated the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the University Politehnica of Bucharest
• 1977-1978 joined Romanian Air Force and was selected for the astronauts training program.
• 1981, after years of training in the Stellar City, Lt. maj. Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu is selected as one of two members of the crew of the Soyuz 40 mission; the flight lasts for 8 days, and Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu is responsible for a series of scientific experiments; the spacecraft lands successfully in Kazakhstan.

• Romania was the 9th country in the world with an astronaut.
• After the mission, Dumitru Prunariu returned to Romanian Air Force, and in the same time served as lecturer at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering in Bucharest.
• In 1990 he was promoted in rank of colonel, on a one and a half years mission at the Ministry of Transport to serve as Deputy Minister of Transports and Head of Civil Aviation Department.
• In 1990, together with other experts in astronautics, he presented the project of the Romanian Space Agency to the Romanian Government.
• In 1991 he graduated the course for superior experts in the International Aviation Management Training Institute
• In 1999 he published his PhD thesis on Space Flight Dynamics.
• Between 1990-2000 he participated at the reform process of the Romanian education system.
• In 2004 he was Romania’s ambassador in the Russian Federation.
• He is the author of many publications and books on astronautics.
• He is an active member of the international scientific community.

Source: www.prunariu.org