By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter


The Korean government plans to start a selection process next month to eventually choose the country’s first astronaut. The one selected is expected to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2007.

``We plan to select 300 hopefuls next month and cut the number to one through multi-pronged screening processes by early 2007 to send him or her into space,’’ Vice Science-Technology Minister Choi Seok-sik yesterday told a press conference.

The ministry will funnel 6 billion won ($5.8 million) into the three-year project and the affiliated Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) will be in charge of it.

Korean adults who are over 19 years old and meet a variety of criteria can apply for the space scheme next week through a way the KARI will announce soon.

The criteria for the candidates’ selection are expected to be revealed next week but a KARI official gave an outline of them.

``Candidates should be 164-190 centimeters tall and weigh between 45-90 kilograms. He or she needs to have an eye test score of 0.1 or above with the naked eye with corrected vision test scores of 1.0 or above,’’ said Choi Gi-hyuk who leads the project at the KARI. He said that no candidate should have a criminal record.

He added individual characteristics and ability to perform work will be assessed. Proficiency in English will also be counted in the evaluation, together with an aptitude to learn Russian.

The KARI looks to select 300 candidates through the document screening next month and applicants are required to present resumes and achievement records in foreign languages.

Only 10 percent of the 300 successful candidates will pass the second state of assessment _ a written examination on common sense, checkup on their personal background and tests on physical ability and mentality _ in next January.

Then the state-backed agency will shortlist down to five through more advanced tests in collaboration with the Air Force in March.

The five candidates will be sent to Russia and the country will pick the final pair itself. They will undergo a year’s training at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Of them, only one will be selected as the country’s first-ever astronaut in March 2007. The chosen one will travel to the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and stay there for about 10 days in April 2007.

However, the plan is not all a bed of roses since the government has to find private entities to financially bolster it, aimed at buoying people’s awareness on space development.

On top of the 6-billion-won government budget, the KARI expects the project would cost 20 billion won more but the institute is still struggling to find private partners.

In fact, the KARI originally sought to start the screening process this May but lackluster interest from private financiers caused the half-year delay.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr