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Robotics Expert to Be Korea's First Space-Station Astronaut
outh Korea announced Wednesday that a 30-year-old robotics expert will be the country's first person in space when he flies on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station early next year.
The Ministry of Science and Technology selected Ko San, who works at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said Vice Science Minister Chung Yoon.
Ko, who formerly did research on robots and artificial intelligence at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, beat out Yi Soo-yeon, a 29-year-old woman, following performance and other tests during their training in Russia.
Ko will work on the International Space Station for about a week with two Russian cosmonauts in April, conducting scientific experiments.
South Korea is scheduled to complete the country's first space center in Goheung, 473 kilometers (293 miles) south of Seoul, by the end of next year, a move aimed at laying technical and scientific groundwork for eventual space exploration in coming decades.
Since 1992, South Korea has had 11 satellites launched, mostly for space and ocean observation and communications, according to the ministry.
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Tue September 4, 2007 22:38 EDT
SANGWON YOON Associated Press Writer GWACHEON, South Korea
South Korea announced Wednesday that Ko San, a 30-year-old robotics expert, will be the country's first person in space when he flies on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station next year. (AP Photo/Yonhap) |