Question mark hovers over space wedding

Is the wedding-by-proxy of International Space Station Expedition 7 crew commander Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, and his fiancée Ekaterina Dmitriev still on?

The answer depends on whether you’re listening to the bride or to Russian space officials, who apparently were caught off guard when they got wind of the nuptials planned for August 10.

News reports quoting Russian space agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov say Malenchenko canceled his plans after considering potential legal and technical complications. As a Russian military officer, he must get permission to marry. But the wedding plans are reported to be continuing apace on Earth. That side of the ceremony is set to take place in Clear Lake, Texas. Fort Bend, Texas, County Clerk Dianne Wilson, who issued a marriage license July 17 to Malenchenko and Ekaterina Dmitriev, insists the wedding is a go. If the on-orbit wedding does happen, it would be a space first. Texas law permits one or both applicants to be absent from the wedding ceremony by having a proxy stand in. After Malenchenko returns from space in October, the couple reportedly will have a church wedding in Russia. Malenchenko is 41; Dmitriev, a US citizen who lives in the Houston area, is 26. News accounts say Malenchenko popped the question in December before heading into space and did not want to wait until his return to get married.