Final countdown to space wedding

Malenchenko will swap his space suit for tails

On-off plans for the first space wedding are back on - after the Russian cosmonaut bridegroom swept aside objections from his bosses, a space official said.

Colonel Yuri Malenchenko, who is on board the International Space Station, insists that he will marry his American bride on Sunday.

The ceremony will take place with a lawyer acting on his behalf while he remains in orbit.

Col Malenchenko had promised officials to put off the marriage until his scheduled return in October, but has now changed his mind, said Russian Aerospace Agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov.

His Russian-born bride, Ekaterina Dmitriev, lives in Texas where the ceremony will take place.

He wants it, and he will have it - that's his problem Sergei Gorbunov Russian space agency

The couple may not be able to seal their marriage with the traditional kiss, but will be able to speak by phone during time slots allocated to the space station crew to talk to their families.

They hope to speak during the ceremony itself, but if contact is lost, the American lawyer will continue on Col Malenchenko's behalf.

Legal problems

Russian space officials had urged the cosmonaut to abandon the wedding plan, warning him of a string of legal problems.

Now they have decided not to argue with the lovestruck spaceman any more.

"He wants it, and he will have it - that's his problem," Mr Gorbunov told the Associated Press news agency.

Lu and Malenchenko (far right) are alone on the space station

Col Malenchenko was already in space when he told his bosses of his long-distance wedding plan.

Russian air force chief Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov reportedly said that a "cosmonaut mustn't behave like a movie star".

Officials are also thought to be angry that Col Malenchenko has circumvented Soviet-era rules requiring anyone classified as a "holder of state secrets" to get special permission to marry a foreigner.

"It's an obligation a person takes when he joins the military, a voluntary restriction of freedom," Mr Gorbunov said. "And he didn't even bother to tell anyone about his intention."

Unusual trappings

The space wedding will involve few of the usual trappings.

But Col Malenchenko, who is aboard the space station with American Edward Lu, will wear a tail coat for the occasion, and will slip on a ring as he is married.

The wedding gear was flown to the space station on a supply ship in June.

Texas allows weddings where one party is not present - but this is the first when the reason for the absence is a space trip.