Korea's first astronaut heads for ISS

[Rick]

South Korea's first astronaut is en route to the ISS following the successful launch of a Russian Soyuz TMA-12 vehicle from Kazakhstan's Baikonur centre at 17:16 local (11:16 GMT) this morning.

Biotechnology engineer Yi So-Yeon, 29 - who's accompanied on "Expedition 17" by Oleg Kononenko, 43, and Sergei Volkov, 34 - will spend about 10 days in space conducting scientific experiments and should return to Earth on 19 April with the station's outgoing crew.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/08/s_korean_astronaut/

[Rick]

The Soyuz TMA-12 capsule of Expedition 17 to the ISS today docked successfully with the station at 08:57 EDT (12:57 GMT).

The vehicle delivered commander Sergei Alexandrovich Volkov, cosmonaut Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko and South Korean So-yeon Yi. The latter is the first Korean in space who will, after conducting scientific experiments, return to Earth on 19 April with Expedition 16 crew members commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko in their Soyuz TMA-11.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/10/soyuz_iss_docking/

[Rick]

A Russian capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut has docked with the International Space Station (ISS).

Yi So-Yeon and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old bio-engineer will spend about 10 days in space and conduct a series of scientific tests - some of which she has already begun work on.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7340857.stm

[Rick]

The crew of ISS Expedition 16 and Korea's first astronaut Yi So-Yeon are safely back on terra firma following a safe touch-down of their Soyuz capsule in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Saturday - albeit around 295 miles from their intended landing site.

Yi, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko returned to Earth at about 08:30 GMT. Whitson, 48, now holds the record for the most time spent in space of any US astronaut - a total of 377 days on two missions - claiming the title previously held by Mike Foale who clocked up 374 days over six flights.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/21/soyuz_touchdown/

[Rick]

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft has returned to Earth, but came down more than 400km (250 miles) away from its planned touchdown point, say Russian officials.

The crew are safe, but were subjected to severe G-forces during re-entry, said a spokesman for mission control.

He said they were examined at the landing site by medical staff.

On board were Yi So-yeon, South Korea's first astronaut, Yuri Malenchenko from Russia and American Peggy Whitson, who broke Nasa's record for time in space.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7355912.stm

[Rick]

Korean astronaut Yi So-Yeon has recounted the "ballistic" re-entry of the ISS Mission 16 Soyuz capsule on Saturday which, due to a technical hitch, "exposed the crew to twice the usual gravitational forces", put on a nice display of external flames for the understandably nervous 29-year-old biotechnology engineer, and eventually carried her and her fellow passengers to a touch-down in the steppes of Kazakhstan some distance from the intended landing site.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/21/ballistic_soyuz_reentry/