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Yi!

Yi? Why, that’s Korea’s first astronaut. Yi So-yeon is scheduled to lift-off tomorrow, on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, rolled to its launching pad earlier today. Symbolizing the historic trip, the rocket will depart from the same launch pad that Soviet Yury Gagarin, the first man in space, blasted off on in 1961.

The Russian-Korean crew has already bonded in the usual, Russian fashion – “The White Sun of the Desert”:

As always with Russian space missions, the crew will sit down together before blast off to watch the old Soviet film “The White Sun of the Desert”. The comedy classic boosts morale and is thought to bring the mission good luck.

Yi’s historic stint in space will be very busy:

After a 50-hour flight, the Soyuz spacecraft will dock at the International Space Station on Thursday. There Yi will conduct several experiments until April 18, one day before she returns to Earth. The experiments include studies of the germination, growth and mutation of plants in space, the effects of micro-gravity on eye pressure, the effects of a space environment on the heart, and a study on gravitational effects on aging and genes. Yi will use fruit flies for the latter experiment since their life span is two weeks, making it possible to observe their growth to maturity during her 10-day stay. Having obtained a doctorate in bio and brain engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) last February, Yi is considered well qualified for experiments involving biology, physics, and electronic engineering.

And Yi isn’t about to conform to the usual NASA/RSA diets during her busy trip:

When it comes to dining, astronauts must live on space food they bring with them. Hundreds of kinds of space foods have been developed in the U.S. and Russia, made by freeze-drying items after they are sterilized by radiation. Yi will bring about a dozen Korean comestibles developed by the Korea Food Research Institute and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, including rice, kimchi, red pepper paste, soybean paste soup and instant noodles.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 9:20 am and is filed under Around the Blogs, Space Tourism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Comment

  • Rocco Fanucci says:
    April 8, 2008 at 8:54 am

    The news via RIA Novosti:

    "The delivery vehicle with the crew of Expedition 17 and the first Korean female astronaut has successfully detached from the booster," a RIA Novosti reporter at Baikonur quoted the launch supervisor as saying. "The crew is feeling well."

    The Russian cosmonauts will spend six months on board the orbital station, while Yi So-yeon, a biotechnology engineer, will be in orbit for only ten days.

    During their stay on the ISS, the new crew will monitor docking with several space shuttles and cargo craft, move the Soyuz TMA-12 from the Zarya module to the Zvezda module on the Russian segment of the orbital station, and conduct at least one spacewalk.

    Their scientific research program comprises over 45 experiments, including studies into the growth of proteins and polymers, forecasting earthquakes, and the influence of space on various life forms, including human beings.

    A $25-million contract for a Korean astronaut to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) was signed between Russia and South Korea in December 2006. The original candidate, Ko San, was withdrawn after Russia accused him of taking sensitive documents from a training facility.

    Ahead of today’s launch, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak congratulated Yi in a televised address, saying the flight would be "celebrated by the entire nation."

    Last week, the first European space freighter, Jules Verne, delivered over 7.5 metric tons of supplies to support the operation of the orbital station for another six months.

    Members of the current 16th expedition, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko, will return to Earth with So-yeon Yi in the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft on April 19, while Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman will join Expedition 17.

    Reply

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