Yuri Malenchenko and Ekaterina Dmitrieva have married in a space wedding, in what is thought to be the first official space wedding. The ceremony took place in the skies over Yaroslavl, Russia, and involved the couple performing most of the ceremony before launching.
Malenchenko is a Russian cosmonaut and former air force colonel. He is also one of the longest space cosmonauts, having spent more than two years in orbit. He has also been awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation award, which is the country’s highest honor. Malenchenko has spent a total of eight27 days and nine hours in space. He has also made five space missions, including one to the International Space Station. Malenchenko has also performed multiple spacewalks.
The space wedding was celebrated in a special ceremony, which included a video link to the space station. A life-sized cutout of the groom was greeted by guests at the reception. The groom and bride walked down the aisle to a song by David Bowie. The couple also recited the lyrics to the “wedding march” song by Mendelssohn.
The space wedding also featured a giant fruit bowl, with replicas of a space shuttle and space station. Guests also enjoyed Italian and Russian delicacies.
The video conference was classified as a private family conference, but it was not broadcast on NASA television. The video link was not available on the Internet, and Yuri Malenchenko’s wedding was not broadcast over the International Space Station. The video conference also was not available to the public. However, a friend of Malenchenko in Houston played the role of Malenchenko, standing in for him.
Malenchenko wore a white dress and bow tie, and a ring identical to his wife’s. His wedding ring was also set with precious stones in gold, including rubies and diamonds.
Malenchenko has received the Hero of the Russian Federation award, which goes to the best space cosmonauts. He has been a member of the Russian Air Force and Space Force, and held an administrative position at the Cosmonaut Training Center. He is one of the best space cosmonauts of all time, and has received five space missions. His career was expected to come to an end after his space wedding, but it was extended by two months. He is currently preparing for another space mission.
The space wedding was planned with a Japanese firm that has a tie-up with a US-based space flight company. The wedding cost a total of 240 million yen. The firm has also begun accepting reservations for space weddings. It expects to receive inquiries from customers in China and Arabia. A second Japanese firm, First Advantage, also has plans for a space wedding.
The Russian Aerospace Agency had initially disapproved the couple’s plans for the wedding, arguing that other cosmonauts would not be allowed to marry in space. However, Malenchenko and Dmitriev managed to get approval from the Russian space agency, and they were issued a marriage license.