Malaysia’s first “angkasawan” (space traveller) will be recognised as a cosmonaut by the Russian space authorities, said Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis. [Bernama]
“Some countries might question this, but to me, it is not important. What matters is that the candidate was selected and trained by Russia and the country recognises him as a true cosmonaut,” said Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Jamaludin Jarjis.
He was commenting on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) referring to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, one of two Malaysians eligible to make an expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Soyuz rocket on Oct 10, as “space flight participant” on its website.
It’s funny that Bernama is still translating Angkasawan as space traveller instead of cosmonaut.
Cosmonaut, astronaut, can-naut, roti-naut, whatever… Malaysia will have a man in space pretty soon, that’s the fact. I would prefer to call him a space traveller though, nothing wrong with the name, I don’t see anything defaming with it.