Cosmonaut, Woman Hold First Space Wedding
Cutout Of Groom Greeted Guests At Wedding Reception
POSTED: 5:54 a.m. EDT August 11, 2003
UPDATED: 8:25 a.m. EDT August 11, 2003
HOUSTON -- Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who is on the International Space Station, exchanged vows with his earthbound wife via video phone from the Johnson Space Center Sunday in the first wedding ever conducting from space, according to Local 6 News.
The couple wed before family and friends in a private ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Malenchenko took part via video. Texas law allows weddings in which one of the parties is not present.
A life-size cutout of the groom greeted guests at the wedding reception. The honeymoon will have to wait until after Malenchenko, who wore a bow tie with his blue space suit, returns to Earth in late October.
Dmitriev said the two had grown closer during their time apart, making them want to marry as soon as possible. "It was a celestial, soulful connection that we have," said Dmitriev, 27, who lives in Houston.
The two met at a social gathering five years ago and began dating last year.
He is a Russian air force colonel who stayed aboard space station Mir for four months in 1994. She left Russia for the United States with her parents when she was 3 and lives in Houston.
After their relationship began, Malenchenko, 41, returned to Russia to train for his upcoming space mission, but the two continued their courtship via telephone. The cosmonaut proposed in December.
Because Malenchenko was preparing for his mission and there was no time to plan a wedding, they decided to get married while he was still in space.
Malenchenko, who blasted off to the station in late April with American astronaut Edward Lu, quietly arranged to have his tail coat and wedding ring flown to him aboard a cargo ship that arrived at the station in June. Lu served as his best man during Sunday's ceremony, and even performed the wedding march on a keyboard in the space station.
Russian officials urged Malenchenko to delay the wedding. They ultimately gave their blessing but said other cosmonauts won't be able to do the same.
In Russia on Sunday, Malenchenko's father, Ivan, said the space wedding had made the cosmonaut's mother, Nina, cry and said "what is this needed for -- a sensation for the whole world?"
But Malenchenko's brother laughed and said his sibling will now be nearly as famous as cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person to orbit the Earth.
As for the honeymoon, that will have to wait until after Yuri returns from the International Space Station in October, according to a Local 6 News report.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The couple wed before family and friends in a private ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Malenchenko took part via video. Texas law allows weddings in which one of the parties is not present.
A life-size cutout of the groom greeted guests at the wedding reception. The honeymoon will have to wait until after Malenchenko, who wore a bow tie with his blue space suit, returns to Earth in late October.
Dmitriev said the two had grown closer during their time apart, making them want to marry as soon as possible. "It was a celestial, soulful connection that we have," said Dmitriev, 27, who lives in Houston.
The two met at a social gathering five years ago and began dating last year.
He is a Russian air force colonel who stayed aboard space station Mir for four months in 1994. She left Russia for the United States with her parents when she was 3 and lives in Houston.
After their relationship began, Malenchenko, 41, returned to Russia to train for his upcoming space mission, but the two continued their courtship via telephone. The cosmonaut proposed in December.
Because Malenchenko was preparing for his mission and there was no time to plan a wedding, they decided to get married while he was still in space.
Malenchenko, who blasted off to the station in late April with American astronaut Edward Lu, quietly arranged to have his tail coat and wedding ring flown to him aboard a cargo ship that arrived at the station in June. Lu served as his best man during Sunday's ceremony, and even performed the wedding march on a keyboard in the space station.
Russian officials urged Malenchenko to delay the wedding. They ultimately gave their blessing but said other cosmonauts won't be able to do the same.
In Russia on Sunday, Malenchenko's father, Ivan, said the space wedding had made the cosmonaut's mother, Nina, cry and said "what is this needed for -- a sensation for the whole world?"
But Malenchenko's brother laughed and said his sibling will now be nearly as famous as cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person to orbit the Earth.
As for the honeymoon, that will have to wait until after Yuri returns from the International Space Station in October, according to a Local 6 News report.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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