The wedding was held in a restaurant at the Space Center in Houston * Ekaterina Dmitriev had to settle for a life-sized cardboard doll of her husband, cosmonaut Yuri Melanchenko
Avi Blizovsky coordinated (the news from 6/8/03 is from YNET)
The pair of astronauts currently staying on the space station: on the right, Edward Lu and Yuri Melanchenko
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Ukrainian cosmonaut Yuri Melanchenko didn't let the fact that he lives aboard the International Space Station stop him from marrying his earthly love, Ekaterina Dimitriev in the first wedding ever held from space.
The couple married on Sunday, August 11, 2003, in front of an audience of friends and family in a private ceremony held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Malenchenko took part in it via video. Texas state law allows marriages where one spouse is not present.
"It's very sweet," said Joan Woodward, the ceremony planner. A life-size cardboard doll of the groom was placed at the reception in a restaurant decorated with silver stars and waiters dressed as astronauts. Their other commitments as a married couple will have to wait until Malenchenko returns to Earth in October. They also plan to marry in a Russian Orthodox ceremony next year.
The parents are angry
The "space wedding" that took place yesterday may have earned the astronaut of Ukrainian origin, Yuri Melanchenko, a place in the record books, but it angered his parents.
The news that the 41-year-old Malenchenko, commander of the International Space Station, is going to marry his bride, who is on Earth, surprised his parents Nina and Ivan. "We think it shouldn't be like that. It's strange that the groom won't be at his own wedding," Nina Melanchenko told Reuters the other day. "A friend of ours called us and said it was going to happen, after reading about it in the newspaper."
Malenchenko, the commander of the International Space Station since April, overcame technical and legal problems as well as objections from his superiors, and married Ekaterina Dmitriev, a 26-year-old American citizen from space via telephone.
For news on CNN
The space wedding will take place as planned
6/8/2003
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Melanchenko announced that he chose not to comply with the request of senior officials in the Russian space agency and to marry his partner in a few days while in space, in orbit around the Earth.
YNET
The planned wedding of the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Melanchenko, continues to evoke echoes in Russia and not only there. Many in the world are closely following the affair, which resembles a real telenovela.
About two weeks ago, Melanchenko announced that he intends to marry his partner while staying in outer space. The couple-to-be applied for a marriage license in Texas - since Texas law allows marriages where one of the parties is not present. Their request was approved, and the two planned to get married while the couple was in the US, and Melanchenko was aboard the International Space Station, which is in orbit around the Earth.
After the media around the world talked about the planned wedding, which was to be the first wedding in space, the senior officials of the Russian Space Agency, the managers and commanders of Melanchenko announced that they were against the idea. The officer in charge of Melanchenko told a newspaper in Russia that "it is not right for a cosmonaut to act like a movie star. The research missions are not a science fiction movie."
Following the wave of reactions and the advice of senior officials of the Russian Space Agency, Melanchenko announced that he was withdrawing his intention to marry in space and said that he would get married when he returned to Earth from space.
Today (Tuesday) a senior official at the Russian Space Agency announced that Melenchenko changed his mind again, and decided not to listen to the advice of the agency's people and to get married while in space. According to the plans, Melanchenko was supposed to return to Earth in October, but as mentioned, he withdrew and decided to get married while staying in outer space.
The wedding is scheduled for August 10.
The first wedding in space has been cancelled
YNET
23/7/2003
Melenchenko gave in to the demand of his commanders
The spokesman for the Russian space agency said that cosmonaut Yuri Melanchenko decided to cancel his wedding ceremony that was planned to take place on August 10. According to the original plan (see below in this file), which was of interest to many around the world, Melanchenko was supposed to marry his partner in a special ceremony while the bride was in the USA, and the cosmonaut was on board the International Space Station, which is in orbit around the Earth.
Melanchenko announced yesterday that he will marry his partner while staying in outer space. The couple applied for a marriage license last Thursday in Fort Bend County, Texas. Texas law allows marriages where one of the parties is not present. Their request was approved and they planned to hold the wedding while the couple's wife, Ekaterina Dimitriev, is in the US, and the two will talk via satellite phone.
When the senior officials of the space agency heard about Melanchenko's intention, they were surprised. "We told him that we did not intend to prevent him from getting married as he had planned, but we made it clear to him that this is a legal problem that is unclear as to how we can solve it," the agency said. Russian law states that Yuri Melanchenko, a senior officer in the Russian Air Force, is considered a "keeper of state secrets." As a result, he can marry a foreign woman who is not a Russian citizen only after receiving the approval of his superiors. The cosmonaut's partner, Dimitriev, immigrated to the USA with her parents, and she has lived in Houston since the age of three.
A senior officer in the Russian Air Force, who is in charge of Malenchenko, told a newspaper in Russia that "it is not right for a cosmonaut to act like a movie star." The officer attacked Melanchenko's announcement about his marriage in outer space, saying "the research missions are not a science fiction movie."
Following the criticism hurled at him by other officers in the air force, and by the headquarters in charge of him, Melanchenko finally decided to cancel his wedding in space. Apparently, the two will marry when he returns to Earth from his missions on the International Space Station.
The first wedding in space
Avi Blizovsky
Russian cosmonaut Yury Melanchenko, who is on the Bilnuma space station, plans to marry his heart's choice next month in the first space marriage. The bride, Yekaterina Dimitriev will remain on earth.
It might be a match made in heaven, if the groom, floating on the International Space Station, doesn't get cold feet.
Russian cosmonaut Yury Melanchenko, who is on the Bilnuma space station, plans to marry his heart's choice next month in the first space marriage. The bride, Yekaterina Dimitriev will remain on earth. The wedding will be held via satellite broadcast.
Dimitriev's wedding planner, Joanne Woodward, said that Melanchenko was initially angry about the media interest, but the wedding will take place on August 10 anyway.
The Russian news agency, Iter-Tass, quoted Sergey Gorbunov, the spokesman for the Russian space agency Rosovskiy-Kosmos, as saying that Yuri himself called from the space station and confirmed that he agrees to the idea.
The couple applied for a marriage license Thursday in Fort Bend County, Texas. Texas law allows marriages where one of the parties is not present.
"This proves that relationships manage to be maintained even when the two parties are at a great distance from each other."
Dmitriev left Russia for the US with her parents at the age of three and lives in Houston. The two met at a social event five years ago and started dating in 2002.
Melanchenko, 41, returned to Russia to train for the flight, but the two continued their contact by phone. The cosmonaut proposed in December. Since Melanchenko was then training (before the Columbia disaster) to fly a space shuttle, there was no time to plan the wedding, so they decided to get married while he was in space. Melanchenko is scheduled to return to Earth in October.
Yadan International Space Station
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