Korean-Russian Collaboration in Outer Space

A ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight takes place at Korea Aerospace University


Some 30 people in attendance at a luncheon to celebrate the world's first manned flight in outer space include Korea Aviation University President Yuh Jun-ku,; Lee Sang-ryul, head of the KARI Satellite & Development Head Office,; MEST Director Yoon Dae-sang; and NewsWorld Publisher-President Elizabeth M. Oh.


President Lee Chae-wook of the Incheon Int'l Airport Corp.

Fifty years have passed since Yuri A. Gagarin was the first person to go into space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the earth on April 12, 1961. A ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight was held at the grand auditorium of Korea Aerospace University in Goyang City, north of Seoul, on April 12.
In cooperation with Korea Aerospace University and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the Russian Embassy organized the event with Russian Ambassador Konstantin V. Vnukov, Korea Aviation President Yuh Jun-ku, Lee Sang-ryul, head of the KARI Satellite & Development Head Office, Yoon Dae-sang, director in charge of space technology at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea’s first astronaut Yi So-youn of the KARI and some 300 Korea Aerospace University students in attendance. The United Nations marked the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight in outer space with a special session of the General Assembly and the opening of an exhibition to mark the historic achievement.
During the Korean event, a video containing Russian Astronaut Gagarin’s historic space flight, the current status and future plans of Russia’s space exploration was presented. Gagarin became the first person to travel into space on April 12, 1961, when he orbited the earth on the Vostok-1 spacecraft in a flight lasting 108 minutes.
Vnukov said in his lecture at the ceremony, “I’m confident that Korea and Russia will successfully carry out the task of putting Korea’s first carrier rocket, Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV), into orbit despite the criticism of the purpose of the project.” The feat will likely be made on the basis of experiences and expertise Korean experts have acquired during collaboration with Russian counterparts, he added.
With the help of Russian experts, Korea became the 13th nation in the world to have a space center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do. Though the first two launch attempts of the KSLV-I were not successful, the technological feat achieved in the process of developing and launching the KSLV-I is a valuable asset for the future development of the next Korean space launch vehicle, which will be wholly developed using domestic technology, Korean industry sources said.
Vnukov said, “The prospects of expanding Russian-Korean collaboration on space research are upbeat.”
He noted that Yi So-yeon become the first Korean astronaut to make a flight into space with a Russian team in the Soyuz spacecraft in April 2008 and this was the first step in Korea’s bid to develop into a space power. With Yi’s journey into space, Korea became the 36th country to put a person into orbit and the seventh country to send a female into space, the ambassador said.
Korea Aviation University President Yuh said, “The meaning of the anniversary event is historic from the perspective of the history of humanity with the first human space flight.” He stressed the need for multinational collaboration for space exploration, which carries high costs, instead of it being done by one country.
In a question and answer session Korean astronaut Yi recalled the experiences she had during her flight in a Russian spacecraft in 2008, including the taste of the kimchi she brought to space with her. The reality is that the kimchi, put among the space foods, tasted like stale, old kimchi since it lost its lactic acid and others good for human health due to sterilization. She gave a glimpse into the tough process of having been selected and trained as Korea’s first female astronaut. nw


Photos by NewsWorld, Russian Embassy