Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is set to become the first Malaysian to travel into space.
Sheikh Muszaphar will blast off aboard a Russian-built Soyuz space craft en route to the international space station along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Peggy Whitson. They blast off from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 10.
I have mix feeling about this… it’s a good thing that Malaysia is sending someone into the space finally, but I don’t really applaud on how it is (going to be) done. I mean, what have Malaysian contributed towards the space project besides funding it? Does Malaysia really benefit anything significant besides having a colourful page in our record book?
In fact I have problems calling Muszaphar an astronaut; for me he is merely a government sponsored space traveller… does that make him an astronaut? I am not sure… I always think astronaut is something special.
Regardless, Sheikh Muszaphar is going to be in Malaysia record book for his achievement. I don’t have any problem with this man in person; the government offered an opportunity, he went for it and got it… kudos for that. I wish him all the best.
I just hope that years after this event, the Angkasawan project could meet its objective of spurring the interest of younger generations into science and technology development, and prove that it is not a money wasting idea.
Malaysia has done it again! Spending millions on buying face, to show the world “Malaysia Boleh”. “Boleh” for what?. Countries send men to space to conquer, so for what reason a malaysian being sent to space. We dont even have rocket to go to space. We dont have any expertise in space travelling. We dont have “wawasan space 6767″.
Malaysia is simply moving forward in the world by doing this. It is entirely a logical and natural thing for any nation to do. It gives the nation a certain amount of prestige and respectablity and shows citizens of both that country and the rest of the world that Malaysia is making significant and tangible efforts to be part of the new world. Doing this now shows Malaysian leaders have the forethought to do this now so as to keep the chances of being left behind in the new technological revolution to an absolute minimum. As more and more nations do a similar thing Malaysia is showing the world that it is not afraid of the technological revolution which gives rise to this opportunity. Even if this does not happen again for a very long time it does show the young people of Malaysia (and other smaller countries participating in the technological revolution) that they can aspire to great things and do not simply put in huge amounts of study to keep mom and dad happy.
Let us not forget the massive spin offs which the early space race generated to industry and technology and the revolutions it caused. Were it not for the space race would we even now have 086 computers!!
Full points to the Malaysians for doing this. Although the successful candidate appears to be of royal blood we cannot forget that medical doctors are frequently chosen for such tasks, and even if of royal blood, had not the successful applicant studied and worked hard over many years he wouldnt be going.
Jeff,
Malaysia isn’t moving forward in the world by doing this, if to drain..it is. It is logical for any country to explore the horizon but not by sending someone and come back with some “everybody knows” remarks of experiance and celebrate and forget about it.
The question is do this benefit Malaysia citizens? The british knows malaysian made cars are lousy…so how can we convince them to think that by sending someone to space that we are actually advancing in technology? The message we are going to send to the world is we are so desperate to shine ourselve among all dimbulbs. We dont have forethought leaders but egomaniac bunch only.
Also the question is not about royal blood, once again…do all this benefit malaysia citizens by spending millions ringgit. Why not use this millions ringgit on paying some external national debts? I would say good if Malaysia really invest on space travelling, and please, by sending someone for a space trip is not the first step.
Sadly in life, sometimes we must “keep up with the Joneses” and as more and more countries send one of their citizens on this sort of mission, sadly it moves closer to becoming a “must do” to be recognised as being part of the technological world. It is a “poor man’s” way (and there is absolutely no disrespect intended here) of being in the space race for nations which do not have the economic resources that the Americans, Russians, and Chinese do to develop the craft themselves and send their citizens into space. The publicity generated by these missions can go a long way towards “melting” ideas the global public may have about the inferiority of products made in a participating nation. During the original space race USA verus USSR this was a way of showing the world which was the superior hemisphere to be in politically, without resulting to war. The entire world watched this event and it was monstrously instrumental in deciding which country would go into which political camp. With smaller nations, such as Malaysia, it becomes a micrcosmic race of the same nature. The willingness of the Russians and Americans to take members of smaller nations into space creates a space race on a much smaller scale, but globally this is none tle less a “be there or be square” kind of race. It gives smaller and less economically dominant nations the ability to particpate in the space race, albeit not on the grand scale of the super powers. The whole world is still watching who does what with space and it takes notice. It is thus still vitally important to smaller nations which wish to draw attention to themselves to the world as technologically progressive, to participate in such missions as and when they can. We can see the Malaysians doing this, the South Koreans are high up on the list as well, the Brasilians have done it and other nations as well. To do so is almost a “rite of passage” into the 21st century technological world.
A space traveller like Dr. Muzzaffar orbiting into space in a Russian vehicle is actually referred to correctly as a Cosmonout and not an Astronaut. There is also the benefit of either witnessing first hand or otherwise jointly participating first hand in the experiments that are conducted by others in space. There is no waste of Billions here.
India send three Cosmonauts when people critical of their achievement said they should be feeeding the starving millions instead. They are, much of it due to their scientific achievements also as cosmonauts.
This actually reminded me of the Everest conquering years ago… it was something that every country was trying to do, and Malaysia was following the trend… and we made it. Was I proud when I first read that Malaysians were finally conquering the highest peak in the world? A bit… and for a short period of time.
Besides getting Malaysia on the list of countries that have conquered Everest… what significant impacts did the project bring us eventually? I can’t recall any.
My same concern for the Angkasawan project as well. As Jeff mentioned, everyone is doing it… just a couple of weeks ago I read that South Korea has picked their astronaut candidate. Does that mean that Malaysia should do it as well? I am not sure.
Will I be proud for having a Malaysian in space finally? Just a bit perhaps… I would have much more pride for every medal won by fellow Malaysians in the coming ASEAN games then this space venture though.
We will have to wait and see if the project could bring any long term development to our science and technology sectors. I don’t feel good on this, but I could be wrong (I hope I am).
..Jeff..
Spinning and spinning to make one accept what is not into what is acceptable. And always people believing in myth always tend to justify it by giving imaginable reasons. As i said i would be proud if malaysia really invest into space project, the sending of an individual to space does not make malaysia advance in technology…this is a fact. It only let the world knows a malaysian went to space..thats all. No other benefits. Only face showing. Each country or even individual has its own reasons to go to space but for malaysia it just want face. If i am a billionaire i would also like to experiance what it is like to f* in space, really.
..alta mira,
What are we going to do with the “first hand eye-witnessing” experiances/datas and the “joint first hand experiment”? i mean..to us is “first-hand” but to those russians and americans is old whores. Btw, what kind of “first hand eye-witnessing” and “joint hand first hand experiment” are you referring?..
Regarding india, c’mon..they are one of the main players on world stage..how could you compare malaysia and india..?
..alta mira,
“Mazlan defended the agency’s stated plan to task a chef with researching how to make roti canai, a popular flat Indian bread, in space, and to have its astronaut wear traditional batik fabric in space.” quoted by Mazlan Othman (National Space Agency director-general)
Is this the “first hand” experiment you are talking about?
Russians call them cosmonauts.
Yankees call them astronauts.
Chinese call them taikonaut.
Only these 3 have done it on their own. Since we hitch a ride with the Russians we should be called tumpangnaut.
Calling Jeff and Alta Mira from space, how many roti canai you want?
Many at the beginning of the space era were blind to what flow on benefits would be realised, and it would seem to be the same in this forum. What do we now say about a nation which did not have an airline? Much the same as we will say in ten years from now about nations which have not had citizens space.
As far as cooking national foods and wearing traditional dress in space…if it can be done in a “shirtsleeve” environment why not…shows the ability to not only go to space but to begin some sort of normalacy there, far in advance of living in a spartan manner during missions. So it is neither a silly nor a taunting idea.
And while we cannot compare Malaysia to India, neither many years ago could India have boasted any great technological achievements. Now it can and it is going forward greatly.
So in a developing world, the Malaysian government is actually doing the nation an economic and technological favour of Herculean proportions by doing this now.
I can see your point Jeff. Years ago Malaysians were skeptical about Petronas Towers when it was proposed… while it still remains questionable as a white elephant sometimes, it does help to raise Malaysia’s image internationally.
Sending a man to the space will unlikely to give the same impact like Petronas Towers (or F1 which is highly successful)… the effect of the Angkasawan project is still remain to be seen.
Time will tell. At the meantime, perhaps we should just hope for the best.
Jeff..i thought you would come back with some backup facts about your insistence on malaysia’s space program. Looks like the mockery i stated doesnt make any different on your brain…another twisting around the facts with background music of baba black ship. I thought you would have done better. We have a military contracts with the russian costs about USD1billion and that include the space trips. At normal price, the russian charge an individual USD20-25 millions for a trip. Assuming that we had discount, say 10%, so the minimum for malaysia to pay an individual to a space trip is USD18 million. The wawasan 2020 want malaysian to step on the moon and to enable a malaysian to step on moon, space tripS required. Lets say we tours space about 5 times from 2007 to 2020, it will costs 18×5=usd90 mil, usd90milxrm3=rm270mil. So the very very very minimum costs is about rm270 million to get a person to moon (2020).
Unlike the south koreans, indians, brazilian, europeans - as you mentioned (please read their space program before you utters rubbish), why not just give (pro-malays though) rm100,000 on every malay families (rm100,000 x 2,700 family = rm270 million)…arent it better…at least?. Jeff could you not be so proud?
YeinJee…please dont be like aunties debating on magnum 4-d. What is the use of debating when results has already came out?. The petronas tower is a building, a landmark, and an asset. How could you compare an asset with a half-baked cake (the space trip)?
ffad…you just keep living in the past with your head in the sand. Open your eyes. Launching a man into space requires effort and technology to a level that it inherently generates national prestige, and even now so many decades after Gagarin still attracts massive coverage form the press. I havent twisted any facts, just told it like it is. You are the one who needs to do better. I could reply to your comments but the ignorance contained in them is such that to reply to you I would have lower myself to a level to which I am not prepared to go.
Yenjee, thank heavens two out of three of us who have had said something have more than three brain cells. Good point mentioning the Tower, looking from outside your Country I can see that bringing a lot of publicity and favourable comment. With the impending launch of your astronaut (or cosmonaut or however you wish to refer to him) the effect on Malaysia’s international prestige will be a compounding one. Obviously the tower will be an incredible expensive project but both of these will give you bang for the buck when it comes to international prestige. And yes, perhaps the Tower will overshadow the launch of your man, but these events will attract publicity to your country (each to whatever degree) for a very long time to come.
ffad, I will not insult my own intelligence by coming back to this site to see your reply to my comments.
Jeffrov the happy russian,
Since you are so supportive on our great malaysia space program, i demand “thank you to malaysia” from you, after we have transferred the money of course.
Jeff, good thing you will not come back to leave your comments.. cause you’re full of shit. Seriously, i’m with ffad here. I mean, seriously, what have we got to profit from this program? Nuthin worth the price we have to pay. What have we got to lose? The price of sending this guy into space.
And the money involved couldve instead be used to improve on many aspects in Malaysia that need improvement.
To me, it’s just a waste of time and money.
But i’m sure you’re all excited about it Jeff, you know why? Cause your intelligence’s too shallow to see farther and deeper. One day when scolding or insulting one’s parents became a trend, you too, sure will follow.
Affad.. you have my support in this arguement, cause personally, I think Jeff’s nothing but a katak bawah tempurung but thinks he is ontop of the world.
Oh.. i reread what you wrote Jeff, cause i really didnt do so earlier. And seriously, it’s so full of shit that i just cant get my eyes continue reading it.
How can you equate countries owning an airline to countries sending their citizen to space??
Hey Jeff, dont ever come back.. you disgust me with your intelligence.
Hop Gnoel…this jeff may from russia, i believe he is somehow link to this space trip. Ya know…marketing stuffs…spam feedbacks to customer (haha..just joking…but i still suspect). He dont know anything about malaysia, forgive him.
See you around.
This is enough guys. I welcome debates and arguments, but I don’t like to see blatant attacks. Stop attacking each other. Thank you.
On ffad asking Yeinjee to limit comments entries.
Yeinjee says
“ffad… it’s possible.
The comment sections are here for people to say what they want and what they think of. It might not be something that I agree or pleasing for the majorities… but that’s freedom of speech. Isn’t that part of what lots of Malaysians are fighting for as well?”
I am sorry i have to make some comments but you are contradicting.
I am not contradicting. I respect freedom of speech, but I believe it has it limits… attacking people and attacking ideas are two different stories.
I welcome people to debate on ideas and thoughts, but not personal attack.
There is a different between ‘your idea is stupid’ and ‘you are stupid’.
But there is a different between “because of your insistences of stupid ideas, so you are stupid” and a mere “you are stupid”. It is not right to say a person is stupid, but an idiot is an idiot (vice versa, from opponents), you cant change their mind.
It is all base on facts (on the ground).
Point is, I don’t like seeing personal attacks between readers… as simple as that.
ahh…as simple as that!!
[...] astronaut, can-naut, roti-naut, whatever… Malaysia will have a man in space pretty soon, that’s [...]
It all depend on what will be the outcome of this in terms of long term effects.
If it can inspire a lot of Malaysian kids by this program to be astronaut or spark interest in science and technology and aerospace in particular or related fields, then multiply that by the number (millions) of kids and their success stories in years to come. The values could be exponential. (could be equivalent to billions of ringgit as spent in education budget which also include inspirational and motivational sessions and classes)
Some credit should be given to intangible values like inspiration and motivation before a person can produce tangible results.
I have been to Johnson Space Centre or NASA in Houston with guided tour, and I can understand the reason why US spent a lot of dollars in their Space Programme before they can send a person to space.
Nothing compare to what we are spending, the learning experience we are getting is very much more valuable and of course our astronauts must share all their knowledge and experience with fellow Malaysians especially our school kids.
This is certainly different from other expedition such as Dato Mansor’s sailing around the world (Panglima Hitam had done that long time ago) or South and North Pole expedition (cool experience) by D.Paduka Mazlina which spent millions of ringgit also.
I m inspired a lot by others and love to give inspiration and motivation to others as a lecturer.
i advise visionaries to stay focus for another 30 years later. The false vision given to others by many amature visionaries with its own agendas will not be tolerate by the supreme council of visionary.
[...] Besides, I would applaud if the billions ringgit saved could be used to develop our villages… but I am affraid that we might use it for something else… paying for a crook bridge (that was never built), spending on new toys or sending a traveller to space. [...]