Yi So-yeon, a female astronaut and biosystems engineer, became the first South Korean to reach orbit. In the screening process, Yi beat out over 36,000 applicants to become one of the two finalists. Just one month before the rocket launch, she replaced the primary candidate Ko Son, who was disqualified for violating training regulations. On the launch, Yi marked a major milestone in Korea's space history, flying with two Russian cosmonauts as a payload specialist. The spacecraft they rode on, Soyuz TMA-12, docked with the International Space Station two days after launch. Her mission took 11 days.
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