The Hindu : A marriage made in the heavens

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003

International

International

A marriage made in the heavens

Ekaterina Dmitriev with a life-size cut-out of her bridegroom, Yuri Malenchenko after her satellite wedding, in Houston on Sunday. — Reuters

Houston (Texas) Aug. 11. A Ukrainian cosmonaut got married on Sunday in an extra-planetary exchange of vows. The matrimonial union was between Yuri Malenchenko in orbit on the International Space Station (ISS) and his Russian-American bride at ground control, according to media reports.

Ekaterina Dmitriev (26), wore a white wedding dress and tiara, while Mr. Malenchenko (41), wore a standard issue blue flight suit and bow tie, in a private ceremony on Sunday via video uplink from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, where the ceremony was held. It was the first-ever wedding from space. In Texas, the law allows people to get married by proxy, and Mr. Malenchenko had a friend as his stand-in for the ceremony. His best man was crewmate Ed Lu, a U.S. astronaut and the only other person aboard the ISS, who played the wedding march. Mr. Malenchenko will not return to Earth until late October, when the couple plans a honeymoon trip.

DPA

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