З Південної Кореї повідомляють, що першим астронавтом з тієї країни стане жінка-інженер, яка замінить першого кандидата - чоловіка. Його кандидатуру було відкинуто через порушення ним низки правил. Передав Джон Садуорт:

Послухати репортаж

Ko San beat thirty-six thousand other hopefuls for the chance to become South Korea's first man in space. At a cost of twenty million dollars the thirty-one year old had been sent by his government to the Russian Federal Space Agency, training for a Soyuz rocket mission to the International Space Station in early April.

But following what are being described as breaches of protocol, the first South Korean in space will now be a woman, as Mr Ko is being replaced by his understudy on the training programme, a twenty-nine year old engineer, Yi So Yeon. The Russian authorities say that Mr Ko mistakenly sent a mission-training manual home along with his belongings, and then violated another rule by acquiring a document he was not authorised to see, reportedly a set of instructions for a spacecraft pilot.

The South Korean government says that these were minor violations, and that Mr Ko will remain on the Russian training programme, albeit now in the role of reserve astronaut. South Korea has ambitious plans for its space programme, and is developing its own rocket launching capability for sending satellites into low Earth orbit from later this year.

John Sudworth, BBC Correspondent, Seoul

Послухати слова

hopefuls
ті, хто сподівається (на обрання, перемогу, нагороду і т. ін.)

breaches of protocol
порушення протоколу

understudy
кандидат номер два

mistakenly
ненароком, волею випадку

violated another rule
порушив ще одне правило

acquiring
придбання

was not authorised to see
йому не було дозволено бачити

minor violations
несерйозні порушення

albeit
хоча й

ambitious plans
амбітні плани