South Korea roots for first cosmonaut

The Soyuz spacecraft that blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Tuesday is on its way to the International Space Station. It is carrying two Russian cosmonauts as well as South Korea's first cosmonaut and the youngest-ever woman in space Yi So-yeon.

During the launch Yi So-yeon was writing a letter to her family, while the family is watching far below.

All is well, and Soyuz has commencing on its journey International Space Station. Meanwhile Yi So-yeon’s family has moved to Russian capital, where they can keep a watchful eye on Yi So-yeon and attend celebrations of lifting the fiftieth woman in space.

“When she was a girl she painted pictures of space and watched films about space. She was always dreaming about space. But we thought it was just a dream,” Lee So-yeon – Yi’s mother – recalled.

“When they decided that my daughter would be the first cosmonaut I felt very happy. It was also a big surprise. I started worrying because it is not safe to go to space. That’s why I was crying during the lift-off,” she said.

Lee So-yeon has eleven more days to wait for her daughter’s return. Her next big adventure will be docking with the ISS.