It started with a phone call from the Soviet colleagues. Could we develop a thermoluminescent dosimeter system with an on-board reader for the flight of first Hungarian cosmonaut?
It required a reduction in mass, dimensions and power consumption by a factor of 20-30 and that the instrument shall meet the strict requirements for the launch and the operation in space. The answer to the question was yes. Fourty years ago, in 1978, the Soviet delegation preparing the flight of the first Hungarian cosmonaut made an official visit to KFKI, where they officially asked the very same question from the KFKI Director General with the additional requirement of finishing the development and manufacturing within 9 months! Ferenc Szabó’s answer was positive and he provided overall support for the development team.
Hungarian cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas measuring with Pille on board Salyut-6 in 1980 (Credits: MTI)
On the occasion of the 40 years anniversary of the start of the Pille development, István Apáthy, Antal Csőke, Sándor Deme and Attila Hirn selected and shared memorable moments from 1978 until nowadays in a two-episode TV show on Channel Hatoscsatorna. The language of the show is Hungarian and can be watched below.
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| Episode 1 | Episode 2 |