Romfilatelia and the Romanian Post will introduce into circulation on Thursday, 14 May 2026, a new postage stamp issue dedicated to outer space.
The issue SPACE EXPLORATION, consisting of four postage stamps, a perforated souvenir sheet, and a First Day Cover, highlights three anniversaries:
45 years since the first space flight of Romania’s only cosmonaut – Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu (stamps with face values of Lei 3.50 and Lei 6.50);
100 years since the death of Admiral Vasile Urseanu, founder of the Bucharest Astronomical Observatory (stamp with face value of Lei 10);
50 years since the first spacecraft to Mars (Viking 1) (stamp with face value of Lei 21);
45 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST SPACE FLIGHT OF ROMANIA’S ONLY COSMONAUT – DUMITRU-DORIN PRUNARIU
The Soyuz 40 mission, launched on 14 May 1981 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, marked Romania’s entry into the history of human spaceflight. On board were Soviet commander Leonid Popov and Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu. Romania thus became the 11th country to send a citizen into space, while Prunariu became the 103rd human to reach space.
The mission, conducted within the Interkosmos program, involved docking with the Salyut 6 orbital station and performing scientific experiments in fields such as medicine, biology, physics, and Earth observation, some of which were prepared by Romanian specialists.
The mission concluded successfully on 22 May 1981 and remains a symbol of international cooperation and an important milestone for Romania.
The stamp with the face value of Lei 6.50 depicts the Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu in his Sokol spacesuit, with the Soyuz 40 – Salyut 6 – Soyuz T-4 orbital complex in the background. In the distant view, Earth is shown as seen from orbit, along with a gas trail associated with a rocket launch, distorted by high-altitude atmospheric currents. This phenomenon was reported by the Romanian cosmonaut and documented through photographs taken aboard the station, later becoming the subject of scientific study.
The stamp with the face value of Lei 3.50 shows the Romanian cosmonaut in a terrestrial astronaut jacket, with the Soyuz-U launch vehicle and the Soyuz 40 spacecraft in the background. The Soyuz spacecraft consists of three modules: the orbital module, the descent module, and the service module.
The perforated souvenir sheet, featuring the stamp, with the face value of Lei 32 illustrates the Romanian cosmonaut in microgravity conditions aboard the station, alongside cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh. In the image, the Romanian cosmonaut is seen photographing space mail aboard the station. Starting with Soyuz 28, when flight engineer Georgi Grechko was designated the first orbital postmaster, mail exchange between Earth and space stations became a regular practice, carried out via visiting crews or automated supply vehicles.
ADMIRAL VASILE URSEANU ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY – 100 YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF THE FOUNDER
The stamp with the face value of Lei 10 presents the founder of the Bucharest Astronomical Observatory, which bears his name, together with the Zeiss equatorial telescope (1910) and the observatory building.
Admiral Vasile Urseanu built, using his own funds, a building in Bucharest on today’s Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard, designed as a yacht-shaped house with an astronomical dome.
The observatory was equipped with a 150 mm Zeiss refractor with a 2.7 m focal length, one of the largest in the country at the time.
VIKING 1 – EXPLORATION OF PLANET MARS – 50 YEARS
The stamp with the face value of Lei 21 depicts the probe placed in Mars orbit, the Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle, and the Viking 1 lander. The lander is shown in a Martian sunset setting, with its robotic arm extended for soil sample collection.
Viking 1 was the first of two probes in NASA’s Viking program, alongside Viking 2, each mission consisting of an orbiter and a lander. Viking 1 achieved the first successful landing on Mars.
The Viking mission was initially planned for 90 days after landing, but both the orbiter and lander significantly exceeded their expected operational lifespan.
Romfilatelia thanks Mr. Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu and Mr. Adrian Majuru, Manager of the Metropolitan Museum of Bucharest, for their documentary support, as well as the designer Alec Bartos, Romanian Astrophilately Chairman, within the Romanian Philatelic Federation.
