Country dossier · ROU

Romania

Emerging space nation

A sourced snapshot of Romania's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Romania in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Emerging space nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 1

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

ROSA (Romanian Space Agency)

National space agency · established 1991 · two-source verified

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

1

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

8

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

$6M

Emerging spender · 2024

Source: OECD · GBARD by socio-economic objective

National strategy

Strategia Națională pentru Dezvoltarea Sectorului Spațial și Domeniilor Conexe (SNDS) (2022)

ROSA-led national strategy for space and related fields aligning Romanian capacities with ESA and EU programmes

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Signed only
Artemis Accords 2020Signatory (2022-03-01)

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

No launch infrastructure on Romanian soil; ROSA participates in ESA programmes.

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Dumitru PrunariuSoviet space program (Intercosmos) · first flight 1981 · First and only Romanian in space

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1981First national in space
  • 1991ROSA (Romanian Space Agency) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • ESA member since 2011 — ROSA coordinates
  • Dumitru Prunariu — cosmonaut (Soyuz-40, 1981), UNESCO Space Ambassador
  • Goliat CubeSat (2012) — first Romanian satellite
  • ELI-NP (Magurele) — world most powerful laser
  • INCAS — aerospace testing facilities
  • Growing Copernicus downstream sector