The first space wedding occurred on July 17, 2010, when U.S. cosmonaut Ekaterina Dmitrieva married Yuri Malenchenko, an astronaut on the International Space Station, via satellite video link. The bride was at NASA headquarters in Houston and her groom was in orbit, and both were wearing white tuxedos and bow ties. The event was a first for humankind and it was hailed as a “technological marvel.” However, the effects of the first space wedding were felt years later.
Although the Russian space program has sent a man into space, the United States is the only country to have sent a woman, dog, or tourist into orbit. The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko will marry his longtime girlfriend, Ekaterina Dmitriev, a former model and former actress. A hotline was set up by Roscosmos to help couples in Houston exchange their vows in space.
The space wedding is a symbolic event that can be celebrated by astronauts. The ceremony will take place 100 kilometers above Earth. It will be conducted on a private space flight by Rocketplane Kistler, an aerospace design and construction company. Guests can also be invited from Texas. The astronauts will have a live broadcast of the ceremony, so they will be able to share it with family and friends. The marriage will be recorded on an HDTV camera and will be available for viewing on the Internet.
The marriage was conducted by proxy. Both the bride and groom were able to view the entire ceremony through video conferencing. A photo of the couple’s faces was taken and the ceremony was broadcast on NASA television. The astronauts dressed in formal flight uniforms and a white wedding dress. They were also joined by Ed Lu, who played the “Wedding March” on his piano. The event was a private family conference. It was considered an exclusive event and was classified as “private.”
The ceremony was transmitted via satellite from the International Space Station. The cosmonauts chose to wear formal flight uniforms to the ceremony. Afterward, they went to Japan. In Moscow, the couple chose to marry in a raw space venue. The bride and groom had live broadcasts of their wedding in the “Earth” and the groom wore his uniform. In Tokyo, the Yuri and Ekaterina Malenchenko were a perfect match for each other and had a daughter, Camilla, named after them.
In addition to the traditional wedding, the couple also had a special ceremony on the International Space Station, with the priest performing the ceremony. The wedding transmission was classified as “private family conference” in the ISS. The cosmonauts’ contract prevented their marriage from taking place in outer space. Nevertheless, the couple had a happy and memorable experience. They exchanged vows and stayed together for a year after their return.