Space wedding!

[brian]

Don;t know if anyone noticed, but a Russian cosmonaut was married in space yesterday!

Stars in space couple's eyes

One of the most unusual weddings in history has taken place as planned with the groom orbiting the Earth and the bride on the ground in Texas, US

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, 41, has married his American girlfriend, Russian-born Yekaterina Dmitriyeva, by video link between the International Space Station (ISS) and the Nasa space control centre in Houston.

The bride, in an ivory wedding dress, was at the space centre with her bridesmaids and wedding guests, while the groom wore a bow tie with his blue spacesuit.

He was accompanied by his best man, fellow astronaut Edward Lu, who had the additional duty of playing the wedding march on a portable keyboard.

"It was cool; it went straight to the heart," said the bride, standing next to a life-size cut-out of her groom that was his stand-in at the space-themed wedding reception.

The couple set their wedding day before Yuri's mission aboard the space station was extended following the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

Under Texan law, they were allowed to tie the knot despite not being in each other's presence. A friend acted as a proxy for the occasion.

The couple have sold the video rights of the ceremony to an American TV company, which will broadcast it on Monday.

Colonel Malenchenko proposed to his 26-year-old girlfriend who lives in Houston last December, and they set their wedding day for early August.

In theory, he should have been back in plenty of time from his current mission.

But delays led to a rescheduled blast-off from Kazakhstan, leaving the groom still stranded in space on his planned wedding day.

Objections were raised by Russian authorities - who only learned of the arrangements three weeks ago - on the grounds that serving officers in the armed forces are barred from marrying foreigners.

But they were silenced by protests from ordinary Russians who thought the ceremony should go ahead.

The US authorities approved the long-distance ceremony on the basis that the groom had valid reasons not to be present in person.

However, Mr Malenchenko's parents, who live in rural Ukraine, were alarmed to hear about the marriage, only days before the ceremony.

"It's strange because the groom will not be at his own wedding," said Nina Malenchenko.

Neither she nor her husband Ivan have met their son's bride. But the father put a brave face on the surprising turn of events.

"Now everyone will know the two Yuris - Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, and Yuri Malenchenko, the first man to marry in space," said Ivan Malenchenko.

Recently divorced Colonel Malenchenko has had a tuxedo and wedding ring supplied for the service by a cargo spaceship.

When the astronaut does finally return to Earth in October, the couple plan to hold a ceremony in Russia and go to Australia for their honeymoon.

But this may be the only space wedding ever to take place.

The Russian authorities will stipulate in future contracts with astronauts that they cannot get married while on a mission, Russian space official Sergei Gorbunov told Itar-Tass news agency.

Ms Dmitriyeva, who was born in the then Soviet Union and moved to the US with her family when she four years old, lives and works in Houston.

Now, isn't it just a real shame the wedding night and honeymoon couldn't be spent in space? ;D

[dwndrgn]

I thought it was kind of silly. All they had to do was postpone the ceremony a few months. Maybe I'm just cynical. Or just crankier than usual this Monday morning.

[Twelve]

Hmmm...I guess there was no kissing involved with this one.

I'm judging this more on the silly side, but it looks like they'll have a REAL wedding in Russia just to keep things normal.

Now, a REAL wedding and honeymoon in space? That's something.

12

[brian]

Yup! Somehow there seems to be more of the issue of public relations stunt involved here. Either that or Yuri is gagging for a green card to the USA. A novelty only, perhaps?