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LIVE: Soyuz TMA-12 launch (April 8) - Docking (April 10) by Chris Bergin on 17 Oct, 2006 20:50
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#1 by tonyq on 30 Oct, 2006 20:35
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The Koreans are down to the last thirty in their hunt for two candidates to send to Russia
http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview_sub.php?menu=6&key=2006102714
Korean Astronaut Candidates Reduced to 30
Friday, October 27, 2006 12:29:47
The number of candidates to become Korea’s first astronaut has dropped to 30.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced Friday that after a second screening test it had selected 25 men and 5 women from 245 astronaut hopefuls who passed the first round.
Among them, the youngest is a 23-year-old female graduate student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. A 49-year-old professor is the oldest.
Early next year, the two final candidates will begin training at Russia’s Gagarin Space Center.
Only one will become the first Korean astronaut to board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft in April 2008.
Reported by KBS WORLD Radio
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#2 by hektor on 30 Oct, 2006 20:46
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Reminds me of Juno.
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#3 by tonyq on 04 Nov, 2006 16:57
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Here is a Korean language photo article on the five female candidates.
http://www.joins.com/article/2489775.html?ctg=16
They are aged between 23 and 31 and four have scientific backgrounds, while the fifth is a TV reporter on SBS, Han Sun Hui.
Some other reports which I've put through babelfish state that the Koreans have decided to pick a man and a woman as their finalists, in which case these girls each have a one in four chance to be selected.
The next round of selections will be announced on 24th November, when they will reduce the field to ten candidates.
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#4 by hektor on 04 Nov, 2006 21:57
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Really like Juno... a man and a woman as finalist.
Five female candidates ? one in four chance to be selected ? could you explain ? -
#5 by tonyq on 05 Nov, 2006 00:48
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Hektor - what I meant was 4 to 1 chance of being selected. One gets picked, four don't, which is ofcourse 1 in 5 !!
You are right though, a bit like Juno all over again, if they go for a man and a woman.
Incidentally, the youngest candidates are age 23 and 24. If they were to be selected, and the planned schedule of April 2008 in maintained, they have a chance to become the youngest person in space ever, beating Gherman Titov's record from 1961. -
#6 by tonyq on 24 Nov, 2006 07:32
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Koreans now down to 10 candidates, 7 men and 3 women.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/archives/result_contents.asp?id=200611240061&query=astronaut
The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute today named 10 candidates for the country's first-ever spaceman.
The 10 candidates barely made it out of 30 hopefuls in the third screening process, which included physical fitness, aptitude and situation assessments at the Republic of Korea Air Force Medical Center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Oct. 31 - Nov. 23.
Half of them were in their 20s and another half in their 30s. Seven were males and another three females. Two were married and another eight unmarried, the ministry said.
Park Ji-young, a 23-year-old master's course student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, was the youngest among the 10 candidates. Lee Jin-young, a 36-year-old squadron leader, was the oldest.
By occupation, there were four researchers, two master's course students, one air force combat battalion leader and one police lieutenant.
The 10 candidates are currently undergoing a three-day test at a space camp located within the SBS Ilsan-Tanhyun Studio. Camp evaluation will test candidates' abilities to control equipment, work in flight simulators and cooperate in a team.
Two hopefuls will be dropped after the camp evaluation, said the ministry, while the remaining eight will go to Russia on Dec. 3 to receive more rigorous tests at Russia's Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Tests include performing underwater missions and riding on airplanes under the weightless condition.
The ministry and KARI will further trim the number of candidates to six on Dec. 16, and select the two finalists on Dec. 25. The Dec. 25 final screening process, which will also assess mass appeal, will be aired in real time on SBS at 18:50-20:00.
The two finalists will receive space and mission trainings at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center for a year. But only one of them will be finally chosen and ride on the Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz in April 2008. The future astronaut will travel to the International Space Station via the Soyuz capsule to conduct various tasks involving scientific experiments, residing in the Russian module of the ISS.
*10 candidates: Go San (30, unmarried, researcher at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), Kim Young-min (33, married, researcher at Korea Basic Science Institute), Ryu Jeong-won (33, married, chief technology officer at IT Magic Co.), Park Ji-young (23, female, master's course student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), Yoon Seok-oh (29, unmarried, official at Hanyang University), Lee So-hyun (28, female, unmarried, researcher at the KAIST), Lee Jin-young (36, married, squadron leader at Republic of Korea Air Force), Lee Han-gyu (33, unmarried, researcher at Samsung SDI), Jang Jun-seong (25, unmarried, lieutenant at Bucheon Nambu Police Station), Choi Ah-jeong (24, female, unmarried, master's course student at Seoul National University)
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#7 by hektor on 24 Nov, 2006 08:49
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Link seems broken
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#8 by SMS on 25 Nov, 2006 20:55
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here is their photos
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#9 by lmike on 26 Nov, 2006 06:06
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SMS, thank you for the photos.
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#10 by hektor on 26 Nov, 2006 21:21
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Ok, who is who, from left to right ?
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#11 by tonyq on 26 Nov, 2006 22:13
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According to the Korean press, these 10 are under going further tests this weekend and then 2 will be eliminated, with only 8 going to Russia.
After that, another 2 will be eliminated with the final 6 going forward to a live TV finale on Xmas Day.
Sounds to me like this is being run like a reality TV show.
My money is on the pilot, plus one of the women. -
#12 by SMS on 28 Nov, 2006 18:52
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Quote
hektor - 26/11/2006 11:04 PM
Ok, who is who, from left to right ?
here is answer to this question -
#13 by hektor on 30 Nov, 2006 16:29
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Thanks - guessing from the ages in the table:
1 is Ryu Jeong-won
2 is Kim Young-min
3 is Lee Jin-young
4 is Choi Ah-jeong
5 is Go San
6 is Lee So-hyun
7 is Yoon Seok-oh
8 is Park Ji-young
9 is Jang Jun-seong
10 is Lee Han-gyu
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#14 by anik on 30 Nov, 2006 19:21
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According to Novosti kosmonavtiki website, the contract about spaceflight of the first South Korean astronaut between Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) and representatives of government of South Korea will be signed on December 7...
Two candidates will begin training to flight in Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in spring of 2007... -
#15 by tonyq on 03 Dec, 2006 09:21
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As predicted, Korea have eliminated two more candidates this week and the final eight have left for Moscow.
Five men and three women are left in the running.
The two knocked out were numbers 1 and 10 on the group photo posted previously.
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#16 by tonyq on 05 Dec, 2006 00:10
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Some of the Koreans at Star City on Monday.
The girl is Park Ji-Young 23 year old Master's course student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
If she was to be selected, and the Spring 2008 timetable is adhered to, she would become the youngest person in space.
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#17 by tonyq on 06 Dec, 2006 21:10
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Photos of the three female candidates
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#18 by hektor on 07 Dec, 2006 14:51
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Have they included "looking good" in their criteria ? It would not be surprising, given the "reality show" taste of the selection process.
The Malaysians did that, Sheikh Muszaphar is a model, beyond his academic capacities. -
#19 by anik on 07 Dec, 2006 15:41
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The contract about spaceflight of the first South Korean astronaut to ISS was signed today in Moscow...