Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 10 August 2003
- One of the most unusual weddings in history occurred on this day in 2003.
On this day in 2003, an astronaut was for the first time married in space. Yuri Malenchenko, a Russian cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent married Ekaterina Dimitrieva. The Wedding took place when he was aboard the International Space Station (ISS), while the bride was in Texas.
Namely, Texas law allows marriages where one participant is absent, on the condition that he or she presents an affidavit explaining the reason why they can’t attend.
At the moment of marriage, when the bride was in Texas, Yuri was at an altitude of 400 kilometers above New Zealand.
In comparison, the ISS moves around the Earth’s orbit at a speed of 27,743 km/h and circles the globe every 92 minutes and 37 seconds.
Today Yuri and Ekaterina have one child, and Yuri proudly bears the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, the greatest honor his country can bestow.
