First South Korean cosmonaut to go to ISS on board Russian Soyuz ship

South Korea intends to spend 13 million dollars on dispatching its first spaceman to the ISS on board the Russian space ship Soyuz. As a representative of the South-Korean Ministry of Science and Technology stated in Seoul on Wednesday, this will take place not earlier than in 2007.

According to his information, the Soyuz rocket was chosen after the Columbia space ship of the USA crushed in February 2003.

A detailed plan of preparation for the flight will be drawn up in Seoul this year, and up to ten candidates will be sent to Russia for training in 2005. A suitable South-Korean cosmonaut will be selected from-among them. The officials of South Korea's Ministry of Science and Technology believe that this will take two or three years.