The Straits Times (Singapore), 11th. November 2004
Perak plans to turn airport into hub for space tourists

Kuala Lumpur - A BRITISH company, which is among a handful in the world promoting affordable space tourism, has offered to turn a northern Malaysian state into Asia's first space travel hub, state's officials said yesterday.

Bristol Spaceplanes, based in Bristol, Britain, is proposing to use Perak's under-utilised airport to launch trips into space for those willing to pay up to RM70,000 (S$30,000) for a ride, Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

Bristol Spaceplanes was among more than two dozen companies that competed for the recent US$10 million (S$16.5 million)X Prize, designed to encourage technology for cheap travel into space.

The prize was given last Saturday to SpaceShipOne, which was financed by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen.

SpaceShipOne completed two space flights within five days - on Sept 29 and Oct 4 - under the rules of the competition.

Mr Tajol said Perak's local government had already accepted the proposal and forwarded it to the federal government for final approval. He did not say how long that would take or when the project could actually take off.

He said the project required an initial investment of about RM600 million.

Bernama quoted him as saying that the project would help bring more revenue for the state airport, which is currently used for a single flight daily.

Bristol Spaceplanes is developing a spacecraft called 'The Ascender', which on the company's website is described as a suborbital space plane that operates like an airplane.

However, its rocket engines propel it to an altitude of 100km, the website added. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Interesting :) .....I wonder which airport they'll use :?

Asian Lift-off for British Space Holidays

"PA"


A British company, which is among a handful in the world promoting affordable space tourism, has offered to turn a northern Malaysian state into Asia’s first space travel hub.

Bristol Spaceplanes has proposed using Perak state’s under-utilised airport to launch trips into space for those willing to pay up to £10,000 for a ride, Perak Chief Minister Tajol Rosli said

The Bristol based company was among more than two dozen companies that competed for the £5 million X Prize, designed to encourage technology for cheap space travel.

The prize was awarded to rival SpaceShipOne, which completed two space flights within five days in September and October – under the rules of the competition.

Tajol said Perak’s local government had accepted the proposal and forwarded it to the federal government for final approval. He did not say how long that would take or when the project could begin.

He said the project required an initial investment of about £85 million.

He the project would help bring more revenue for the state airport, which is currently used for opne flight a day.

Bristol Spaceplanes is developing a spacecraft called The Ascender, which is described as a suborbital space plane that operates like an aircraft. It looks like the US space shuttle.

However, its rocket engines propel it to an altitude of 62 miles.

woo..this is something new in the region..if government approve the proposal.. more kids will have their dream to go up space instead of disneyland already..

wah..cannot! if mah kid next time asks me to sponser him go up space how??.. or if i have more than one kid..wahlan.. i rather send them go disneyland every twice a year........

oh! I do hope they approve!! Perak will be like Houston :lol:

if SpaceShipOne won the first place in the competition....so did the The Ascender got the second OR third place OR so on?????

They are planning to use Ipoh's airport.Luckily I don't live near that part of town.

Malaysia may be first in Asia to launch tourists into space

BY TEOH TEIK HOONG


PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be the first Asian country to operate a space tourism centre by 2010 if plans to build a multi-million ringgit spaceport facility in Perak takes off.

Bristol Spaceplanes Limited director David Ashford said it would take two years to develop a demonstrator of its sub-orbital space plane, two more to build a prototype and another two for flight-testing before passenger flights could start.

“Space tourism is an emerging industry and operational flights have not yet started anywhere in the world.

“The first spaceport with a fleet of five vehicles for passenger-carrying will be established at Mojave in the United States. They hope to start operating in 2007,” he said in an e-mail interview.

On Nov 12, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali was reported as saying that the company had approached the state to set up the RM480mil project to promote space tourism in Malaysia.

According to him, if the federal government gave the go-ahead, the company would build the launch pad for the RM100mil Ascender sub-orbital space plane at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport. Nearby land would also be acquired for the project.





http://www.thestar.com.my/archives/2004/11/25/nation/p8ascender.jpg

OUT OF THIS WORLD: Artist’s impression of the ‘Ascender’ sub-orbital plane in space. The Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh has been selected as the site for the ‘Ascender’ launch pad.






Tajol Rosli had also said the Ascender, which could reach a maximum altitude of 100km, could take up to two crew members and two passengers.

For a whopping RM70,000 per person, the facility will make it possible for the public to take a 90-minute trip to outer space and back.

Ashford said the Ascender took off and landed like a conventional jet plane, so there would be no infrastructure costs other than those for building propellant storage facilities, which were not expensive.

On whether it would be a fully private-sector initiative, he said the company was in discussion with the Government but he expected the project to involve international collaboration.

“The idea is for Ipoh to become the first spaceport in Asia,” he said.

For more information on the Ascender, visit www.bristolspaceplanes.com.

the price tags is just so bloody expensive mate......but you know if the plan goes well, there will be heaps of rich people (milionaires, billionaires) come to visit malaysia just to take on the space travel experience.......and also a big plus for malaysia's tourism industry as well :)

Malaysia may be hub for space travel


BY JOHAN FERNANDEZ


NEW YORK: A leading space authority and a private firm in Florida are eying Malaysia as the regional hub in Asia for space travel.

Disclosing this, Fort Lauderdale businessman Bernhard Schutte said Malaysia was well placed to serve as the hub for space tourism due to its central location.

The Florida Space Authority, which is recognised as the leading space authority in the world, and the US private company, Zero G, are looking into the possibility of bringing space tourism to Malaysia and making it the hub for such travel in the region.

“The technology is all there. And there is so much potential for space travel that it can be very popular, not only in Malaysia and the region, but for the Middle East market as well,” said the CEO of Digital Media Network Inc, that has a company in Malaysia.

Schutte will be leading a 35-member Florida business delegation to Malaysia at the end of February, which includes Winston Scott, astronaut and executive director of the FSA who had been to space four times.

The authority provides economic development for the state through space-related businesses and educational activities, said Shutte in a telephone interview here.

Also included in the team is Dr Ray Ferrero, president of Nova South Eastern University, which would also study the prospects of setting up a campus in Malaysia.

It has taken a year to plan the top-level delegation from Florida to visit Malaysia, said Shutte, adding that they would be in Malaysia for a week with visits to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kedah.

The Florida delegation would look into investment and business partnerships in space transportation, space tourism, space education, biotechnology, life sciences and education, oceanography and pharmaceuticals.

Earlier in the week, the Malaysian ambassador to the United States, Datuk Ghazalli Sheikh Abdul Khalid led a delegation to Florida to visit the FSA and other business organisations involved in the business tour of Malaysia.

Somehow related :


Akriz in aerospace centre deal



BY B.K. SIDHU


AKRIZ Sdn Bhd is teaming up with Italy’s second largest industrial group, Finmeccanica, and the Perak State Economic Development Corp (SEDC) to jointly build and operate a regional aerospace centre (RAC) in Perak.

In a private ceremony today, Akriz will sign a memorandum of understanding on the venture with Telespazio S.p.A, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica.

Akriz received on Monday a “letter of acceptance’’ from the Perak SEDC stating that its wholly owned unit, Perak e-Organisation Sdn Bhd, would be a partner in the venture.

Akriz managing director Nor Akmar Kasim said Perak e-Organisation would provide about 100 acres of land for the development of the RAC. However, the exact location is not known as yet.

The project would take off in stages and when fully completed in five years would have cost about RM1.2bil, Nor Akmar said. The investment in the first two years is only RM150mil.

Funding for the project, she said, would come from shareholders and via loans from offshore banks.

The centre will serve as a regional point in the Asia-Pacific for global aerospace activities, there being no dedicated centre for this region. However, China and India have their own centres for satellite activities.





http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2005/2/2/business/p1akmar.JPG

Nor Akmar Kasim






“It will be modelled after aerospace centres in other parts of the world and will provide most of the functions of a space centre – from satellite data processing services to early orbit operations, earth observation data and application, and telecommunications functions,’’ Nor Akmar said.

Asked why Perak was chosen for the RAC's location, she said among the various reasons was that the land was made available to the RAC, and that the R AC complemented other initiatives by the State Government to turn Perak into an advanced technology state.

Telespazio is a European operator that offers a wide range of satellite solutions, from orbit control and ground segment design to fixed and mobile telecommunications, television services, broadband multimedia, earth observation data and applications, navigation and research and development.

Nor Akmar said the RAC had already lined up several global clients. Besides, Finmeccanica would be a regular user since it is also into the design and manufacture of aero-structures, helicopters, space infrastructures and satellites, missiles and defence electronics.

“There are several ways in which we can derive revenue – from data processing, training and satellite operations as part of the Universal Space Network for the global space industry, and providing infrastructure facilities to regional telecommunications providers.

“RAC will also be able to provide services for the agriculture, marine, mining, transportation, military, security, and oil and gas industries.

“We believe there is immediate demand for data processing services in many sectors in this region that we can tap into.’’ she said.

WOW! I'm very sure Ipoh Cyber city will be realised!

Interesting :) .....I wonder which airport they'll use :?

It must be Alor Setar Airport :D:D:D:D

Sure got "7 star" hotels in Kedah and Perak after that! KL won't say things at Alor Setar again man :D

SO unlikely to happen....

So what happened to the Singapore plan?:?

Roti canai and batik spacebound



BY GEOFFREY LIP

KUALA LUMPUR: By 2007, the first Malaysians will be launched into space and they will be taking with them a piece of home – batik and roti canai.

National Space Agency (NSA) director-general Prof Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman said the astronauts could exchange culture and food with their foreign counterparts, as they would be spending six to eight days at the International Space Station.

“We will have a programme called Batik in Space and we will also launch a programme called Roti Canai in Space to see how we can bring Malaysian delicacies up to the space station.

“We will research ways to bring our astronauts' favourite food into space.

“These we can bring to Houston, in the American state of Texas, where they will study how it can be brought into space,” she said yesterday at the Exploring the Solar System exhibition launch at the National Planetarium here.

She said they would also consult ulama if the astronauts chosen were Muslim.

“If they are Muslim, we will have to ask how he or she would perform their prayer rituals or where the kiblat is. You would need an ulama for that,” she said.

Russia is expected to send Malaysia’s first astronaut into space as part of a scientific mission on board the International Space Station.

Dr Mazlan said the Russians are expected to be in Malaysia by the end of the month, and the astronauts' names would be announced by year-end.

She added that the Exploring the Solar System exhibition would help the younger generation find interest in space.

Jointly organised by the NSA and the British Council, the exhibition includes a RoverBot Challenge (robot building competition), science demonstrations, story telling, puppet shows and robot demonstrations.

The exhibition which started yesterday will be on at the National Planetarium until March 27. Entrance to the planetarium is free for this period. The exhibition will then be taken to Kuala Terengganu, Kuching and Singapore.

I hope they would announce it akademi fantasia style! surprise them at their houses! "Anda terpilih sebagai astronot!"

I hope they would announce it akademi fantasia style! surprise them at their houses! "Anda terpilih sebagai astronot!"

Baq :lol: I know la Akademi Fantasia 3 is going to start soon...but please spare the joke okay :D

tak sabar wanna see..there is one perak girl for sure! Cute also and has a very unique voice as seen on Beat TV :D

tak sabar wanna see..there is one perak girl for sure! Cute also and has a very unique voice as seen on Beat TV :D

Dah agak dah...so many people predict the Perak girl will eventually enroll inside Akademi ;)

Brunei supposed to have audition for Af3..but not kana approved lah! :cry:
Nevermind..next yr guess who will be in the top5! :D

Brunei supposed to have audition for Af3..but not kana approved lah! :cry:
Nevermind..next yr guess who will be in the top5! :D

NO..I'm dying to know la who :lol: