Korea has its first astronaut in the better than average shape of engineer, Yi So-yeon.
Brarst off!
The 29 year old is the youngest woman to go into space and blasted off on the Soyuz TMA-12 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan yesterday.
So-yeon suggests a zero gravity activity to fellow cosmonaut Sergei Volkov which isn't in the official flight plan.So-yeon, a bio-engineer, travelled with two Russian cosmonauts and and will rendezvous with the International Space Station tomorrow.
Frying high! But Ko San is about to be gazumpedThe Korean's have given the Russians $20,000,000 to get an astronaut into space so must have been a bit miffed when the Russki's kicked the Korean's first choice astronaut, male mathematician (a dodgy bunch) Ko San, off the programme for, allegedly, borrowing technical manuals and taking them home to Korea (by mistake, allegedly).
TMA-12 heads out to the launch pad.
We all now expect a nice Hyundai rocket with four strap on boosters, air conditioning, CD player and built in Sat-Nav within five years.
Hyundai man reckons, "We could build one of those, no problem!"
Over 36,000 Koreans applied to be the country's first astronaut and posed the problem for the Russians of how to produce dog-flavoured squeezy space meals. Never mind, it wouldn't be the first time the Russians have blasted dog into space.
How are you feeling? "Ruff!"
Laika (Russian for "barker"!) was not only the first living thing (or Earthling, anyway) into space but the first female. Of course she was never meant to survive her flight in Sputnik 2 and died five to seven hours into the flight on November 3rd 1957. The capsule was burned up on re-entry five months later thus barbecueing what was left of poor Laika. Which brings us neatly full circle to Koreans in space.
Anyway, Agent Triple P wishes So-yeon a good flight and happy randings!
