Ancient State, Modern Instruments: Interkosmos-22 and Image-Making in Socialist Bulgaria

• In Event: What Did the Socialist Sweater Look Like, and Why Does it Matter?: New Perspectives on Socialist Materialities

Abstract

This paper examines the design, launch, and popularisation of the Interkosmos-22/Bulgaria-1300 space satellite, launched in 1981 as part of the socialist state's grand nationalist celebrations of its 1300th anniversary. The desire to launch an entirely domestically-designed satellite embodied the tensions between scientific interest & design, and the propaganda 'optics' of crowning the communist party's celebration of ancient pasts with a future-oriented signpost to the glorious future it was leading Bulgarian society towards. As such, Bulgarian designers were given huge support to complete this task in time, and produce material proof of Bulgaria's socialist progress. Drawing on archival research in scientific and state archives, the paper looks at the tensions and promises of technology design in the confines of specific political aims: and the surprising paths this allowed scientists and space engineers behind the Iron Curtain to take.

Author

• Victor Petrov, U of Tennessee