First S.Korean astronaut enters space station

By Dmitry Solovyov

KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - A 29-year-old nanotechnology engineer became the first South Korean aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, when a Russian space rocket successfully docked with the orbiting platform.

Also aboard the Russian craft that docked on Thursday was Sergei Volkov who followed his father Alexander Volkov into space, creating the first space dynasty.

"I feel great, really great," said Yi So-yeon in a live linkup with mission control after entering the ISS.

Yi had been a reserve astronaut for the space mission but the original first choice candidate was ditched last month for removing sensitive documents from a training area.

South Korea paid Russia about $25 million to send its first national into space.

"You are now the face of Korean space," the head of the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Hong-Yul Paik, told her. "Take good care of yourself and do your best with your scientific experiments."

Yi will return to Earth on April 19 with U.S. commander Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko who have been manning the ISS.

Staff at mission control near Moscow applauded after the Soyuz spacecraft, which blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, locked on without incident to the ISS at 4:57 p.m. (1257 GMT).