Romania space program - the first space rocket schedule

Romania prepares to conquer the Earth outer space by launching its first space rocket (Helen) in early October 2009. The program was run by 40 romanian physicists who built-up a three-stage rocket which will be lifted off by a solar balloon - a hot air balloon that gets buoyancy by using the sun radiation. The balloon (solar airship) will take up the equipment to a height of about 14 km and subsequently the rocket activates its own propulsion system to continue the space trip. The launch will take place from the Back Sea with the help of the Romanian military navy and ROMATSA. The ambitious project could bring Romania international reconnaissance but also a 30 million dollars Google Lunar X prize contest. Google Lunar X prize competition presumes the launch of a rocket to the moon able to land a mobile spacecraft on lunar surface, move it accros 500 meters and broadcast back to the Earth high-definition TV images of the moon environment.
The Black Sea lift-off depends on the meteo conditions therefore the exact date of the launch is still unknown and the balloon used for the opperation is the world's biggest solar ballon that was made by ARCA (Romanian Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Association)
Video Romania Black Sea space rocket launch overview (Romanian commentary).