Yi So-yeon: South Korea's first and only astronaut resigns

South Korea's first and only astronaut, Yi So-yeon, has resigned her position, effectively ending the country's space program.

The then 29-year-old bio-engineering student was one of 36,000 Koreans to apply for the position when the Korean government decided to create its own space agency, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

In 2008, So-yeon made history when she spent 11 days on the International Space Station, becoming the first Korean and 49th woman in space.

She was delivered to the space station via Russia's Soyuz spacecraft; Korea reportedly paid Russia $20 million for the trip.

Now 34 years old, So-yeon is pursuing an MBA degree at UC Berkley's Haas School of Business.

"California is an easy place to be an Asian woman engineer," she recently said of her experience at Haas.

"It feels like home," but studying business and being astronaut was apparently too much for So-yeon.

Officials at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute confirmed this week that So-yeon had mailed a letter informing the agency of her decision to resign her post, citing "personal reasons."

Kompsat-2 Image: Qarhan Salt Lake in the independant country of Tibet

This false-colour composite image from the Kompsat-2 satellite shows part of the Qarhan Salt Lake on the Tibetan Plateau in the free country of Tibet, invaded, dominated and oppressed by China.

There are multiple salt lakes across this region, but Qarhan’s 5850 sq km make it the largest. 

It holds an estimated 60 billion tonnes of salt, and is also a major production base for potassium and magnesium.

In this image, we can see division of the salt evaporation ponds. 

While the false colour makes them appear blue, salt ponds naturally range in colour depending on their algal concentration and salinity.

The nearest city, Golmud, sits about 50 km to the southwest (not pictured).

This image was acquired on 4 December 2008 by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Kompsat-2.

ESA supports Kompsat as a Third Party Mission, meaning it uses its ground infrastructure and expertise to acquire, process and distribute data to users.

Near Miss in Space: Russian and Korean Satellites

A South Korean weather satellite had to be moved to avoid a collision with a Russian military satellite, Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported March 11.


Russia’s Raduga 1-7 came within 3 kilometers of the Korean Cheollian satellite, orbiting at 128.2 degrees east, between March 7 and March 8, said the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which quickly revised the Cheollian’s orbit.

The abrupt movement of Raduga 1-7 also forced two Japanese satellites to be moved.

Russia has not yet responded to Japanese and Korean requests for an explanation.

ROK Agrees To India's ISRO Space Launch Use Suggestion

ROK Agrees To India's Space Launch Use Suggestion

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday agreed to Indian External Affairs minister S.M.Krishna's suggestion to launch ROK satellites on Indian launch vehicles.

A statement issued on behalf of both leaders said: "Referring to the MOU of cooperation, signed last January between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Krishna suggested that ROK satellites could be launched on Indian launch vehicles. President Lee agreed with the suggestion and asked his officials to do the necessary follow-up."

On Thursday, Krishna called on the President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, the official residence of the President.

The two leaders had a constructive and fruitful 40-minute meeting in a warm and cordial atmosphere.

President Lee and Krishna underscored the importance of increasing people-to-people exchanges to bolster the Strategic Partnership between the two countries including in the fields of education, tourism and youth.

Krishna suggested that a bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore , who had described Korea as the 'Lamp of the East', be installed at a prominent location in Seoul.

Warming to the theme, President Lee said that he would make a strong recommendation to the concerned city authorities to identify a suitable location for installing the bust of Gurudev in 2011, the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate.

President Lee, during the meet, fondly recalled his landmark visit to India in January this year, as the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations.

He appreciated Krishna's visit to Seoul for the 6th Joint Commission meeting (JCM), soon after his own, which would give further impetus to bilateral relations and the initiatives announced during his visit to India.

Later in the evening, Krishna interacted with prominent members of the Indian community. He apprised them about the Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Krishna observed that bilateral ties were on the cusp of a major take-off and exhorted the Indian community to assist the process, as well as, to make the best use of emerging opportunities for greater trade and investment.

Krishna will be co-chairing the 6th India-ROK JCM with his ROK counterpart on Friday. (ANI)

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute Naro-1

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle Naro-1 blasts off from the Naro Space Centre in Goheung-gun, South Korea. According to reports The Korea Aerospace Research Institute said it lost contact with the space rocket, known as Naro-1, shortly after lift-off