By Xinhua
Seoul : South Korea’s Science Ministry announced Monday that it has decided to change the country’s first-ever astronaut candidate under Russia’s request.
Following the decision, South Korean female Yi So-yeon, 29, will be sent into the space on the Soyuz spacecraft on April 8 and stay on the space station orbiting the Earth for seven to eight days instead of her colleague Ko San. Yi will become South Korea’s first astronaut and first woman going into space.
“The main reason for the change is based on repeated violations of training protocol by Ko,” said a ministry official. Ko was cited for violating procedures twice separately in September last year and last month.
“The Russian authorities said that because minor mistakes and disobedience could result in serious consequences, following orders is vital,” the official added.
The change of candidate will not affect Yi’s performance as Yi and Ko were trained side-by-side, the official said.
Under an agreement between South Korea and Russia, Yi will blast off from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Space Center on April 8 and stay on board the space station for about a week to conduct various experiments. She is scheduled to board a capsule for earth on April 19.
Ko and Yi were selected as the No. 1 and No. 2 candidates for the space travel from 36,206 South Korean hopefuls last September. They have received extensive training programs in South Korea and Russia in preparation for the travel.