Yi So - Yeon became the first South Korean astronaut to blast off into space today (April 8) headed towards the International Space Station (ISS). She is very much excited about her mission and hopes that this marks an important landmark in history.

 

Yi So - Yeon, took off along with two Russian cosmonauts at 4.46 pm IST from the same launch pad from where the first man in space, Yuri Gagrin, began his journey in 1961. The launch pad is at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The cosmodrome is surrounded by camels in the deserts of Kazakhstan.

 

The astronaut says that she will celebrate Yuri Gagarin's launch on April 12, enjoying herself with a Korean feast and a song. She also asked the people of North Korea to share her happiness and her triumph and hoped that one day both the Koreas would reunite.

 

Her commander on the mission is Sergi Volkov and she is also accompanied by Oleng Kononen. The Korean government will be paying a staggering sum of Rs 20 million dollars for her mission. Yi So - Yeon, was selected in place of Ko San, an engineering student, who flaunted with the rules. Yi has to conduct 14 scientific experiments in the space and hoped that her flight will motivate more Koreans to fly to space.