Bryan Leib, Senior Fellow for the Center for Fundamental Rights and Managing Director for Henry Public Relations, took to the social media site X to congratulate Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu on completing his space mission.
The Crew Dragon capsule carrying Kapu and his three crewmates splashed down into the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Southern California this morning, around 11:30 on Tuesday, 15 July, Budapest time. Kapu’s mission took a total of 20 days, during which he orbited the Earth 320 times on the International Space Station. He left the ISS yesterday after some weather delays.
In his X post about the developments, Leib wrote: ‘Congratulations to Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu on his successful mission to the International Space Station! One small step for Tibor, but one giant leap for US–Hungary relations. The sky is no longer the limit.’
With his statement, he is evidently referencing American astronaut Neil Armstrong’s words when he became the first man to land on the Moon on 20 July 1969, then saying: ‘One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.’
Tibor Kapu’s space flight, which was the first by a Hungarian man since Benedek Farkas in 1980, was facilitated by the American space exploration company SpaceX, headquartered in Starbase, Texas and headed by Elon Musk. Thus, it is also a significant development in US–Hungary relations, as Mr Leib has pointed out.
Leib was not the only person to use X to congratulate Kapu on his safe return home from outer space.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó of Hungary has also done so on the platform owned by Musk, writing: ‘Welcome back on Earth, Tibor!’ and ‘Splashdown complete! After 45 years, another successful Hungarian space mission. Bravo, Tibor Kapu!’ in two consecutive posts.
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