Heading for space, female cosmonaut encounters glass ceiling

Russia's Yelena Serova yesterday prepared to become the first woman cosmonaut in 17 years - but only after having to answer questions about her hairstyle and whether her daughter would cope while she was away.

The 38-year-old space engineer, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun and a strong resolute face, has spent seven years preparing for the role and her husband is also a former trainee cosmonaut.

She was due to blast off early today in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev and Nasa's Barry Wilmore.

While the Soviet Union was the first to send a woman into space - Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 - it failed to build on that promising start and bring equality to the ranks. Serova will be only the fourth Soviet or Russian woman in space.

She has faced a volley of questions focusing on her gender and how she will manage to bond with her 11-year-old daughter while she is away. She even offered to give a demonstration of washing her hair in space.

But her patience appeared to run out at a pre-launch press conference in Baikonur when a journalist asked her to comment again on how she'd look after her hair aboard the ISS and whether she would keep her current style.

"Can I ask a question, too: Aren't you interested in the hair styles of my colleagues?" she asked at the televised conference, flanked by the male astronauts who will accompany her.