YeinJee's Asian blog

Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha

Cosmonaut, or space traveller, but not astronaut

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Malaysia’s first angkasawan (space traveller) will be recognised as a cosmonaut by the Russian space authorities, said Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis [via 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.”

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 on a Russian Soyuz rocket on Oct 10, as “space flight participant” on its website.

Cosmonaut, astronaut, roti-naut, whatever-naut… Malaysia will have a man in space pretty soon, that’s the fact. I still prefer to call him a space traveller though, sounds more fitting, and I don’t see anything wrong with it.

Sheikh Muszaphar – Malaysia’s first astronaut?

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Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is set to become the first Malaysian to travel into space. He will blast off aboard a Russian Soyuz space craft on October 10 to the International Space Station along with a Russian cosmonaut and a US astronaut.

I have mix feeling about this… it’s a good thing that Malaysia is sending someone into space, but I’m not really proud on how it’s being done. I mean, what have Malaysians contributed towards the space project besides funding it? And what’s the benefit 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. Regardless, he is going to make history. 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 just hope that years after this event, the Angkasawan project could meet its objective of spurring the interest of younger generations in Malaysia into science and technology development, and prove that it is not a money wasting idea.