A Space Wedding is a very special ceremony that takes place in the future. Usually, the wedding takes place 100 kilometers above the surface of the Earth, in space. It is a celebration that reflects mankind’s desire to expand beyond our planet.
In the past, space-themed weddings have been popular. However, these events were restricted by the contracts that cosmonauts sign, prohibiting them from conducting a wedding in orbit. That is, until the Russian Aerospace Agency recently decided to allow them to have a wedding.
According to the Russian Space Agency, Malenchenko and Dmitriev’s marriage was a private affair, and was not broadcast on NASA television. However, the couple did set up a video conference for the wedding day. During the ceremony, the bride walked down the aisle to a song from David Bowie’s “Absolute Beginners” and Yuri Malenchenko blew a kiss to his bride.
The couple met while working at Georgia Tech as lab partners. They then moved to Florida for jobs in the space industry. The couple was planning on having a space themed wedding, and they were soon engaged.
Before he married, Malenchenko had spent more than two years in space. He had been on five space missions, and is the second-longest space cosmonaut in history. After the wedding, he reentered the earth’s atmosphere and went on two more missions.
During his first mission, he stayed on the space station for four months. His second mission was extended to the end of October. Afterward, he returned to the earth to see his bride.
The Russian Space Program has sent a number of tourists to space. One of them was Ekaterina Dmitriev. She was born in the United States and has a Russian heritage. Her father, Yuri, is a Russian cosmonaut who is currently the commander of the International Space Station. Earlier, she was a U.S. citizen, but she has not renounced her Russian citizenship.
Although the Russian space program has yet to send another tourist into space, the couple have decided to marry in the future. Malenchenko and Dmitriev were issued a marriage license by the Russian government on July 17. Having a wedding in space would mean that a cosmonaut and a citizen of the United States would be legally married.
Those who are interested in having a space wedding can contact Flight Advantage, a company that offers such services. The company is expecting a high amount of interest from both Chinese and Arabian customers. These couples will also have to pay a fee for photography and live broadcasting.
While Malenchenko and Dmitriev have not announced the date of their actual wedding, they are planning to have it next June. As a matter of fact, a friend of theirs said that their children enjoyed the wedding.
Those who plan a wedding in space can choose from a variety of different locations. Some of them are mountaintop event spaces, which may limit the type of furnishings they can provide. Others are beachfront venues, which may restrict the types of transportation available.