MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Space Agency confirmed on Tuesday the composition of the main and back-up crews of the 17th International Space Station (ISS) expedition.
The main crew, scheduled to take off on April 8, 2008 on board the Soyuz TMA-12 craft, will comprise Russian cosmonauts Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko, and the first South Korean astronaut, Ko San.
A contract for a Korean astronaut to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) next spring was signed between Russia and South Korea in December 2006.
South Korea held a national competition to select an astronaut. Several candidates underwent training at the Gagarin center in Russia under a separate contract.
