We present results on the K*(892)(+) production in proton-proton collisions at a beam energy of E = 3.5 GeV, which is hitherto the lowest energy at which this mesonic resonance has been observed in nucleon-nucleon reactions. The data are interpreted within a two-channel model that includes the three-body production of K*(892)(+) associated with the Lambda or Sigma hyperon. The relative contributions of both channels are estimated. Besides the total cross section sigma(p + p -> K*(892)(+) + X) = 9.5 +/- 0.9(-0.9)(+1.1) +/- 0.7 mu b, which adds a new data point to the excitation function of the K*(892)+ production in the region of low excess energy, transverse momenta and angular spectra are extracted and compared with the predictions of the two-channel model. The spin characteristics of K*(892)(+) are discussed as well in terms of the spin-alignment.
