First Korean astronaut to sing in space

      South Korea's first astronaut said Monday on the eve of her launch to the International Space Station (ISS) that she will celebrate arrival in space by singing for her fellow crew.

      "We will have food on April 12 on the Day of Cosmonauts and I will sing but it's a secret what is the song," Yi So-Yeon, 29, said at a press conference at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan where she is set to blast off on Tuesday.

      Yi, who has listed singing as one of her hobbies, said her first reaction on reaching the ISS would be to cry out: "Wow!"

      A South Korean space official said that Yi's 12-day mission would cost South Korea around 20 million dollars (12.8 million euros) and that he hoped the flight would help further his country's manned space flight ambitions.

      An official committee gave official approval Monday for the mission by Yi and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko.

      The three astronauts spoke to the press from behind a glass screen at the Hotel Cosmonaut in Baikonur as they are being held in quarantine for fear of being contaminated ahead of their space flight.

      Russians celebrate Cosmonaut Day on April 12, the day Soviet hero Yury Gagarin became the first man in space, in 1961. Yi, Volkov and Kononenko will be blasting off from the same launch pad as Gagarin.(Agencies)

      韩国首位女宇航员于本周一飞赴“国际空间站”之前说，她会为同伴们唱歌，来庆祝他们抵达太空。

      29岁的李素妍将于本周二（搭乘载人飞船）从哈萨克斯坦的拜科努尔人造卫星发射基地升空。她在奔赴太空前的新闻发布会上说：“我们将在4月12日宇航员日那天吃东西，到时我会为同伴们唱首歌，但歌名暂时保密。”

      李素妍说唱歌是自己的一大爱好，她说她抵达国际空间站后的第一反应会是大叫一声“哇喔”。

      韩国一名航天官员说，李素妍此次12天的太空之旅将耗资2000万美元（合1280万欧元），并表示希望此行能进一步推动韩国载人航天事业的发展。

      由李素妍和其他两位俄罗斯宇航员谢尔盖•沃尔科夫和奥列格•科诺年科组成的考察团于本周一获得了一个官方委员会的正式批准。

      当天的记者招待会在拜科努尔的宇航员宾馆举行，三位宇航员在一个玻璃屏幕后回答了记者的提问。为了防止在太空飞行前被感染，目前他们正处于隔离状态。

      俄罗斯将4月12日定为宇航员日，因为在1961年的这一天，苏联航天英雄尤里•加加林成为全世界进入太空的第一人。李素妍、沃尔科夫和科诺年科将从当年加加林升空的发射台奔赴太空。