Korean Astronaut Program Explained

Rr:Hanguk ujuin baechul saeop
Mr:Hankuk uchuin paech'ul saŏp

The Korean Astronaut Program was an initiative by the South Korean government to send the first Korean into space via the Russian space program. A ten day flight to the International Space Station (ISS) with astronaut Yi So-yeon occurred in 2008.

First astronaut class

On December 25, 2006, two candidates—one woman and one man—were selected by South Korea during a ceremony held at SBS television center in Dungchon-dong, Seoul. This choice was the result of a comprehensive selection process which started with the screening of 36,000 applications.[1]

Other finalists

The eight other finalists were:

First space mission

The winning pair was sent to Russia in early 2007 to undergo a 15-month training course at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow.

On September 5, 2007, Ko San was named as the prime candidate, whilst Yi So-yeon served as his backup.[12] However, on March 10, 2008 it was announced that the prime candidate would be changed to Yi So-yeon due to several violations of training protocol by Ko San. Ko San served as backup.[13]

On April 8, 2008 Yi So-yeon took off from the Baikonur[14] space center in Kazakhstan at 11:16 GMT aboard Soyuz TMA-12. She spent ten days conducting scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station.[15]

It cost South Korea approximately 26 billion won (US$28 million) to pay for the training and spaceflight.[16]

Post-first mission

In 2014, Yi So-yeon resigned from the program to pursue an MBA, which was incompatible with continuing as an astronaut.[17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: lpage/tech/200612/kt2006122521203411810. Times.hankooki.com. 2014-08-26. 2007-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20070112195517/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200612/kt2006122521203411810.htm. dead.
  2. Web site: Cosmonaut Biography: Ko San. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  3. Web site: Cosmonaut Biography: Yi Soyeon. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  4. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Ji-young Park. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  5. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Seok-oh Yoon. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  6. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Jin-young Lee. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  7. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Jun-seong Jang. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  8. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Jeong-won Ryu. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  9. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Han-gyu Lee. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  10. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Ah-jeong Choi. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  11. Web site: Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Young-min Kim. Joachim Becker. spacefacts.de. 2014-08-26.
  12. Web site: YONHAP NEWS. english.yonhapnews.co.kr. 2014-08-26.
  13. Web site: YONHAP NEWS. english.yonhapnews.co.kr. 2014-08-26.
  14. News: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | First S Korean astronaut launches. news.bbc.co.uk. 2014-08-26.
  15. News: Yi describes bone-jarring return to Earth . https://web.archive.org/web/20210128032653/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24238036. dead. January 28, 2021. David Nowak. April 21, 2008. NBC News. April 10, 2023.
  16. News: First Korean astronaut to take soil into space. Irene Klotz. January 15, 2008. Reuters. April 10, 2023.
  17. News: Yi So-yeon, Korea's first and only astronaut, resigns . Brooks Hays . UPI . SpaceDaily . 14 August 2014 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Korean Astronaut Program".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.