Dumitru Prunariu

Astronaut

Birthday September 27, 1952

Birth Sign Libra

Birthplace Romania

Age 72 years old

#203,330 Most Popular

About

After completing his famous 1981 Soyuz 40 joint space mission with fellow cosmonaut Leonid Popov, Prunariu received Golden Star; Hero of the Soviet Union; Order of Lenin; and Hero of the Socialist Republic of Romania honors.

Before Fame

After earning an Aerospace Engineering degree from the Politehnica University of Bucharest, he trained as a Romanian Air Force officer. He joined the Soviet Interkosmos space program in 1978.

Trivia

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he served as President of the Romanian Space Agency.

Family Life

His marriage to Crina Prunariu produced two children.

Associated With

He and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov both participated in Soyuz space missions.