10/10/07 - The FIRST Malaysian COSMONAUT a.k.a. ANGKASAWAN in Space!

[nazrey]

Govt-linked companies boost aerospace dream
NST Online » 2007/11/16


GOVERNMENT-LINKED companies have a big role to play in developing the country as an international aerospace hub.

Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, in his reply to Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (BN-Labuan), said GLCs' involvement in aerospace contributes towards human capital development in the industry.

The GLCs, he said, helped establish good ties with other countries, resulting in strategic partnerships, extensive training for human resources development and technology transfer programmes.

"It was their expertise that helped the country launch the first micro-satellite, TiungSAT 1, eight years ago."

He said Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, the company which developed TiungSAT 1, is currently developing the second micro satellite, RazakSAT, which was expected to be launched next year.

"The company is also supplying satellite components to a few countries, including Germany and South Africa."

As for flight components, the Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM), has been appointed as the first-tier supplier to Airbus Industrie.

CTRM secured contracts to supply flight components to Airbus 380 and A400M, worth RM990 million and RM870 million, respectively. The company is also the second-tier supplier for Airbus A320, a contract worth RM1.17 billion.

Also, CTRM has the contract to supply engine components to GoodRich Corporation, worth RM170 million.

"Together, the contracts are worth almost RM3.2 billion over a period of three to 21 years," said Hilmi.

[travellator]

Originally Posted by forrestcat

Nooooooooooo...... rest of quote removed..

very uncalled for remarks, please do not comment in this manner on a person you have no knowledge about, some editing and self criticism is in order

[ntly1]

Thanks Nazrey ! but those postings are not RESULTS from the experiments...those are just the explanation of experiments la..anyway..

[nazrey]

Learning about cells in space
Saturday September 15, 2007
TheStar


THE experiments in space will involve liver cancer and leukamia cells by UKM and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) and osteoblasts by Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Prof A Rahman said many cell experiments had been conducted in space but in different scopes and objectives.

In the Malaysian experiment, micro-gravity will be used to grow cells in a three-dimensional manner, which mimics the cells growth in the body. On earth, cells grown in the laboratory grow in a two-dimensional or flat layer.

“We will be able to study the formation process of tumour tissues and how the cells develop resistance against chemotherapy drugs,” he said.

He said cancer cells develop resistance against chemotherapy drugs through the cell membrane which pumps out the drugs before it could penetrate the cell.

“We want to see how the resistance mechanism will be affected by micro-gravity by studying the receptor of the cell membrane. We expect the pump mechanism to be affected because physical changes will occur,” he said.

The experiment will also enable scientists studying the cell’s genetic profile to discover new information and knowledge on the cell’s biology. The knowledge can aid in diagnosing cancer and identifying better forms of treatment.

Under the UiTM experiment on osteoblasts cells, the study is on bone loss. Under normal circumstances, it would take up to 50 years to observe bone loss in humans and a trip to space would enable more information to be obtained as humans experience 10 times more bone loss in space.

The HUVEC experiment is to study blood pressure around the human heart in a micro-gravity environment. It is useful in studying the affects of long-term travel by human beings. Information will also be useful in anticipating effects on astronauts as the Russians are embarking on a trip to Mars, said Prof A Rahman.

Microbes in space involve clinical strains, enterobacter cloacae, isolated from Hospital UKM and acinetobacter baumanii from Universiti Malaysia Medical Center. Both bacteria do not infect a healthy person but are hospital-acquired infections.

Prof Dr Ramelah said past space experiments had shown conflicting results and the Malaysian experiment would seek to confirm the France’s 1996 experiment result that bacteria grew faster in micro-gravity compared with on earth.

Unlike most other space experiments, this experiment will send to space bacteria that can move (motile) as well as bacteria that cannot move (non-motile).

“Past results showed that in space the bacteria increases its resistance level against antibiotics but we do not know the mechanism involved.

“Our experiment will be designed in ways that include exposure to antibiotics as well as non-exposure. If bacteria replicates faster in space, it will produce a protein to resist the antibiotics effects.

“We will extract the protein to study its biological structure to aid in the development of more effective antibiotics,” she said, adding that scientists back on earth would study gene changes to the bacteria at antibiotic, without antibiotic and at original state.

Prof Raja Noor Zaliha said the experiment would spur the local industry as the global market for industrial enzymes was projected to reach RM5.1bil in 2009, but Malaysia still relied on imported enzymes.

She said one of the most widely used methods of studying protein structures was by protein crystallography.

Two proteins successfully crystallised in the Malaysian laboratory have been selected for the project and both are lipase, which are enzymes of industrial importance.

Past experiments in space had involved enzymes but this will be the first for lipase.

Lipases are biocatalysts that can be exploited to be used in the oleochemical detergent, dairy products, food supplements, cosmetics as well as pharmaceutical industries.

Micro-gravity allows crystal to grow in a more regular and perfect form. The crystals are consistently and significantly larger, and more defect free with better structural information. This will give an opportunity to study how crystals form and achieve better packing.

“This may, in turn, lead to obtaining higher resolution of structures which is necessary for establishing the molecular mechanisms of biological reactions for rational drug design and for the design of proteins in this case, lipase with modified activities and functions for specific target industrial applications.

“Benefits from protein-growth experiments in space have already been seen, for example crystallisation experiments involving human insulin have given researchers a better understanding of this compound, which they believe will lead towards a more effective treatment for diabetes,” she said.

(Tak de pun..)

[nazrey]

we just have to wait till the official annoucement...

[nazrey]

KEAJAIBAN AL QURAN, AL-QURAN DAN ASTRONOMI
Ditulis pada Juli 22, 2007 oleh Rully Syumanda
PENCIPTAAN ALAM SEMESTA

Asal mula alam semesta digambarkan dalam Al Qur’an pada ayat berikut:“Dialah pencipta langit dan bumi.” (Al Qur’an, 6:101)

Keterangan yang diberikan Al Qur’an ini bersesuaian penuh dengan penemuan ilmu pengetahuan masa kini. Kesimpulan yang didapat astrofisika saat ini adalah bahwa keseluruhan alam semesta, beserta dimensi materi dan waktu, muncul menjadi ada sebagai hasil dari suatu ledakan raksasa yang tejadi dalam sekejap. Peristiwa ini, yang dikenal dengan “Big Bang”, membentuk keseluruhan alam semesta sekitar 15 milyar tahun lalu. Jagat raya tercipta dari suatu ketiadaan sebagai hasil dari ledakan satu titik tunggal. Kalangan ilmuwan modern menyetujui bahwa Big Bang merupakan satu-satunya penjelasan masuk akal dan yang dapat dibuktikan mengenai asal mula alam semesta dan bagaimana alam semesta muncul menjadi ada.

Sebelum Big Bang, tak ada yang disebut sebagai materi. Dari kondisi ketiadaan, di mana materi, energi, bahkan waktu belumlah ada, dan yang hanya mampu diartikan secara metafisik, terciptalah materi, energi, dan waktu. Fakta ini, yang baru saja ditemukan ahli fisika modern, diberitakan kepada kita dalam Al Qur’an 1.400 tahun lalu.

Sensor sangat peka pada satelit ruang angkasa COBE yang diluncurkan NASA pada tahun 1992 berhasil menangkap sisa-sisa radiasi ledakan Big Bang. Penemuan ini merupakan bukti terjadinya peristiwa Big Bang, yang merupakan penjelasan ilmiah bagi fakta bahwa alam semesta diciptakan dari ketiadaan.
Dalam Al Qur’an, yang diturunkan 14 abad silam di saat ilmu astronomi masih terbelakang, mengembangnya alam semesta digambarkan sebagaimana berikut ini:

“Dan langit itu Kami bangun dengan kekuasaan (Kami) dan sesungguhnya Kami benar-benar meluaskannya.” (Al Qur’an, 51:47)

Kata “langit”, sebagaimana dinyatakan dalam ayat ini, digunakan di banyak tempat dalam Al Qur’an dengan makna luar angkasa dan alam semesta. Di sini sekali lagi, kata tersebut digunakan dengan arti ini. Dengan kata lain, dalam Al Qur’an dikatakan bahwa alam semesta “mengalami perluasan atau mengembang”. Dan inilah yang kesimpulan yang dicapai ilmu pengetahuan masa kini.

Hingga awal abad ke-20, satu-satunya pandangan yang umumnya diyakini di dunia ilmu pengetahuan adalah bahwa alam semesta bersifat tetap dan telah ada sejak dahulu kala tanpa permulaan. Namun, penelitian, pengamatan, dan perhitungan yang dilakukan dengan teknologi modern, mengungkapkan bahwa alam semesta sesungguhnya memiliki permulaan, dan ia terus-menerus “mengembang”.Pada awal abad ke-20, fisikawan Rusia, Alexander Friedmann, dan ahli kosmologi Belgia, George Lemaitre, secara teoritis menghitung dan menemukan bahwa alam semesta senantiasa bergerak dan mengembang.
Fakta ini dibuktikan juga dengan menggunakan data pengamatan pada tahun 1929. Ketika mengamati langit dengan teleskop, Edwin Hubble, seorang astronom Amerika, menemukan bahwa bintang-bintang dan galaksi terus bergerak saling menjauhi. Sebuah alam semesta, di mana segala sesuatunya terus bergerak menjauhi satu sama lain, berarti bahwa alam semesta tersebut terus-menerus “mengembang”. Pengamatan yang dilakukan di tahun-tahun berikutnya memperkokoh fakta bahwa alam semesta terus mengembang. Kenyataan ini diterangkan dalam Al Qur’an pada saat tak seorang pun mengetahuinya. Ini dikarenakan Al Qur’an adalah firman Allah, Sang Pencipta, dan Pengatur keseluruhan alam semesta.

PEMISAHAN LANGIT DAN BUMI
Satu ayat lagi tentang penciptaan langit adalah sebagaimana berikut:
“Dan apakah orang-orang yang kafir tidak mengetahui bahwasanya langit dan bumi itu keduanya dahulu adalah suatu yang padu, kemudian Kami pisahkan antara keduanya. Dan dari air Kami jadikan segala sesuatu yang hidup. Maka mengapakah mereka tiada juga beriman?” (Al Qur’an, 21:30)Kata “ratq” yang di sini diterjemahkan sebagai “suatu yang padu” digunakan untuk merujuk pada dua zat berbeda yang membentuk suatu kesatuan. Ungkapan “Kami pisahkan antara keduanya” adalah terjemahan kata Arab “fataqa”, dan bermakna bahwa sesuatu muncul menjadi ada melalui peristiwa pemisahan atau pemecahan struktur dari “ratq”. Perkecambahan biji dan munculnya tunas dari dalam tanah adalah salah satu peristiwa yang diungkapkan dengan menggunakan kata ini.

Marilah kita kaji ayat ini kembali berdasarkan pengetahuan ini. Dalam ayat tersebut, langit dan bumi adalah subyek dari kata sifat “fatq”. Keduanya lalu terpisah (”fataqa”) satu sama lain. Menariknya, ketika mengingat kembali tahap-tahap awal peristiwa Big Bang, kita pahami bahwa satu titik tunggal berisi seluruh materi di alam semesta. Dengan kata lain, segala sesuatu, termasuk “langit dan bumi” yang saat itu belumlah diciptakan, juga terkandung dalam titik tunggal yang masih berada pada keadaan “ratq” ini. Titik tunggal ini meledak sangat dahsyat, sehingga menyebabkan materi-materi yang dikandungnya untuk “fataqa” (terpisah), dan dalam rangkaian peristiwa tersebut, bangunan dan tatanan keseluruhan alam semesta terbentuk.

Ketika kita bandingkan penjelasan ayat tersebut dengan berbagai penemuan ilmiah, akan kita pahami bahwa keduanya benar-benar bersesuaian satu sama lain. Yang sungguh menarik lagi, penemuan-penemuan ini belumlah terjadi sebelum abad ke-20.

GARIS EDAR
Tatkala merujuk kepada matahari dan bulan di dalam Al Qur’an, ditegaskan bahwa masing-masing bergerak dalam orbit atau garis edar tertentu.
“Dan Dialah yang telah menciptakan malam dan siang, matahari dan bulan. Masing-masing dari keduanya itu beredar di dalam garis edarnya.” (Al Qur’an, 21:33)

Disebutkan pula dalam ayat yang lain bahwa matahari tidaklah diam, tetapi bergerak dalam garis edar tertentu:

“Dan matahari berjalan di tempat peredarannya. Demikianlah ketetapan Yang Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Mengetahui.” (Al Qur’an, 36:38)

Fakta-fakta yang disampaikan dalam Al Qur’an ini telah ditemukan melalui pengamatan astronomis di zaman kita. Menurut perhitungan para ahli astronomi, matahari bergerak dengan kecepatan luar biasa yang mencapai 720 ribu km per jam ke arah bintang Vega dalam sebuah garis edar yang disebut Solar Apex. Ini berarti matahari bergerak sejauh kurang lebih 17.280.000 kilometer dalam sehari. Bersama matahari, semua planet dan satelit dalam sistem gravitasi matahari juga berjalan menempuh jarak ini. Selanjutnya, semua bintang di alam semesta berada dalam suatu gerakan serupa yang terencana.Keseluruhan alam semesta yang dipenuhi oleh lintasan dan garis edar seperti ini, dinyatakan dalam Al Qur’an sebagai berikut:

“Demi langit yang mempunyai jalan-jalan.” (Al Qur’an, 51:7)

Terdapat sekitar 200 milyar galaksi di alam semesta yang masing-masing terdiri dari hampir 200 bintang. Sebagian besar bintang-bintang ini mempunyai planet, dan sebagian besar planet-planet ini mempunyai bulan. Semua benda langit tersebut bergerak dalam garis peredaran yang diperhitungkan dengan sangat teliti. Selama jutaan tahun, masing-masing seolah “berenang” sepanjang garis edarnya dalam keserasian dan keteraturan yang sempurna bersama dengan yang lain. Selain itu, sejumlah komet juga bergerak bersama sepanjang garis edar yang ditetapkan baginya.

Garis edar di alam semesta tidak hanya dimiliki oleh benda-benda angkasa. Galaksi-galaksi pun berjalan pada kecepatan luar biasa dalam suatu garis peredaran yang terhitung dan terencana. Selama pergerakan ini, tak satupun dari benda-benda angkasa ini memotong lintasan yang lain, atau bertabrakan dengan lainnya. Bahkan, telah teramati bahwa sejumlah galaksi berpapasan satu sama lain tanpa satu pun dari bagian-bagiannya saling bersentuhan.
Dapat dipastikan bahwa pada saat Al Qur’an diturunkan, manusia tidak memiliki teleskop masa kini ataupun teknologi canggih untuk mengamati ruang angkasa berjarak jutaan kilometer, tidak pula pengetahuan fisika ataupun astronomi modern. Karenanya, saat itu tidaklah mungkin untuk mengatakan secara ilmiah bahwa ruang angkasa “dipenuhi lintasan dan garis edar” sebagaimana dinyatakan dalam ayat tersebut. Akan tetapi, hal ini dinyatakan secara terbuka kepada kita dalam Al Qur’an yang diturunkan pada saat itu: karena Al Qur’an adalah firman Allah.

BENTUK BULAT YANG BENAR
Dia menciptakan langit dan bumi dengan (tujuan) yang benar; Dia menutupkan malam atas siang dan menutupkan siang atas malam…” (Al Qur’an, 39:5)

Dalam Al Qur’an, kata-kata yang digunakan untuk menjelaskan tentang alam semesta sungguh sangat penting. Kata Arab yang diterjemahkan sebagai “menutupkan” dalam ayat di atas adalah “takwir”. Dalam kamus bahasa Arab, misalnya, kata ini digunakan untuk menggambarkan pekerjaan membungkus atau menutup sesuatu di atas yang lain secara melingkar, sebagaimana surban dipakaikan pada kepala.Keterangan yang disebut dalam ayat tersebut tentang siang dan malam yang saling menutup satu sama lain berisi keterangan yang tepat mengenai bentuk bumi. Pernyataan ini hanya benar jika bumi berbentuk bulat. Ini berarti bahwa dalam Al Qur’an, yang telah diturunkan di abad ke-7, telah diisyaratkan tentang bentuk planet bumi yang bulat.

Namun perlu diingat bahwa ilmu astronomi kala itu memahami bumi secara berbeda. Di masa itu, bumi diyakini berbentuk bidang datar, dan semua perhitungan serta penjelasan ilmiah didasarkan pada keyakinan ini. Sebaliknya, ayat-ayat Al Qur’an berisi informasi yang hanya mampu kita pahami dalam satu abad terakhir. Oleh karena Al Qur’an adalah firman Allah, maka tidak mengherankan jika kata-kata yang tepat digunakan dalam ayat-ayatnya ketika menjelaskan jagat raya.

ATAP YANG TERPELIHARA
Dalam Al Qur’an, Allah mengarahkan perhatian kita kepada sifat yang sangat menarik tentang langit:“Dan Kami menjadikan langit itu sebagai atap yang terpelihara, sedang mereka berpaling dari segala tanda-tanda (kekuasaan Allah) yang ada padanya.” (Al Qur’an, 21:32)Sifat langit ini telah dibuktikan oleh penelitian ilmiah abad ke-20.

Atmosfir yang melingkupi bumi berperan sangat penting bagi berlangsungnya kehidupan. Dengan menghancurkan sejumlah meteor, besar ataupun kecil ketika mereka mendekati bumi, atmosfir mencegah mereka jatuh ke bumi dan membahayakan makhluk hidup.

Atmosfir juga menyaring sinar-sinar dari ruang angkasa yang membahayakan kehidupan. Menariknya, atmosfir hanya membiarkan agar ditembus oleh sinar-sinar tak berbahaya dan berguna, - seperti cahaya tampak, sinar ultraviolet tepi, dan gelombang radio. Semua radiasi ini sangat diperlukan bagi kehidupan. Sinar ultraviolet tepi, yang hanya sebagiannya menembus atmosfir, sangat penting bagi fotosintesis tanaman dan bagi kelangsungan seluruh makhluk hidup. Sebagian besar sinar ultraviolet kuat yang dipancarkan matahari ditahan oleh lapisan ozon atmosfir dan hanya sebagian kecil dan penting saja dari spektrum ultraviolet yang mencapai bumi.
Fungsi pelindung dari atmosfir tidak berhenti sampai di sini. Atmosfir juga melindungi bumi dari suhu dingin membeku ruang angkasa, yang mencapai sekitar 270 derajat celcius di bawah nol.Tidak hanya atmosfir yang melindungi bumi dari pengaruh berbahaya. Selain atmosfir, Sabuk Van Allen, suatu lapisan yang tercipta akibat keberadaan medan magnet bumi, juga berperan sebagai perisai melawan radiasi berbahaya yang mengancam planet kita. Radiasi ini, yang terus- menerus dipancarkan oleh matahari dan bintang-bintang lainnya, sangat mematikan bagi makhuk hidup. Jika saja sabuk Van Allen tidak ada, semburan energi raksasa yang disebut jilatan api matahari yang terjadi berkali-berkali pada matahari akan menghancurkan seluruh kehidupan di muka bumi.

Dr. Hugh Ross berkata tentang perang penting Sabuk Van Allen bagi kehidupan kita:

Bumi ternyata memiliki kerapatan terbesar di antara planet-planet lain di tata surya kita. Inti bumi yang terdiri atas unsur nikel dan besi inilah yang menyebabkan keberadaan medan magnetnya yang besar. Medan magnet ini membentuk lapisan pelindung berupa radiasi Van-Allen, yang melindungi Bumi dari pancaran radiasi dari luar angkasa. Jika lapisan pelindung ini tidak ada, maka kehidupan takkan mungkin dapat berlangsung di Bumi. Satu-satunya planet berbatu lain yang berkemungkinan memiliki medan magnet adalah Merkurius - tapi kekuatan medan magnet planet ini 100 kali lebih kecil dari Bumi. Bahkan Venus, planet kembar kita, tidak memiliki medan magnet. Lapisan pelindung Van-Allen ini merupakan sebuah rancangan istimewa yang hanya ada pada Bumi. (http://www.jps.net/bygrace/index. html Taken from Big Bang Refined by Fire by Dr. Hugh Ross, 1998. Reasons To Believe, Pasadena, CA.)

Energi yang dipancarkan dalam satu jilatan api saja, sebagaimana tercatat baru-baru ini, terhitung setara dengan 100 milyar bom atom yang serupa dengan yang dijatuhkan di Hiroshima. Lima puluh delapan jam setelah kilatan tersebut, teramati bahwa jarum magnetik kompas bergerak tidak seperti biasanya, dan 250 kilometer di atas atmosfir bumi terjadi peningkatan suhu tiba-tiba hingga mencapai 2.500 derajat celcius.

Singkatnya, sebuah sistem sempurna sedang bekerja jauh tinggi di atas bumi. Ia melingkupi bumi kita dan melindunginya dari berbagai ancaman dari luar angkasa. Para ilmuwan baru mengetahuinya sekarang, sementara berabad-abad lampau, kita telah diberitahu dalam Al Qur’an tentang atmosfir bumi yang berfungsi sebagai lapisan pelindung.

LANGIT YANG MENGEMBALIKAN
Ayat ke-11 dari Surat Ath Thaariq dalam Al Qur’an, mengacu pada fungsi “mengembalikan” yang dimiliki langit.

“Demi langit yang mengandung hujan.” (Al Qur’an, 86:11) Kata yang ditafsirkan sebagai “mengandung hujan” dalam terjemahan Al Qur’an ini juga bermakna “mengirim kembali” atau “mengembalikan”.

Sebagaimana diketahui, atmosfir yang melingkupi bumi terdiri dari sejumlah lapisan. Setiap lapisan memiliki peran penting bagi kehidupan. Penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa lapisan-lapisan ini memiliki fungsi mengembalikan benda-benda atau sinar yang mereka terima ke ruang angkasa atau ke arah bawah, yakni ke bumi. Sekarang, marilah kita cermati sejumlah contoh fungsi “pengembalian” dari lapisan-lapisan yang mengelilingi bumi tersebut.
Lapisan Troposfir, 13 hingga 15 km di atas permukaan bumi, memungkinkan uap air yang naik dari permukaan bumi menjadi terkumpul hingga jenuh dan turun kembali ke bumi sebagai hujan.Lapisan ozon, pada ketinggian 25 km, memantulkan radiasi berbahaya dan sinar ultraviolet yang datang dari ruang angkasa dan mengembalikan keduanya ke ruang angkasa.

Ionosfir, memantulkan kembali pancaran gelombang radio dari bumi ke berbagai belahan bumi lainnya, persis seperti satelit komunikasi pasif, sehingga memungkinkan komunikasi tanpa kabel, pemancaran siaran radio dan televisi pada jarak yang cukup jauh.

Lapisan magnet memantulkan kembali partikel-partikel radioaktif berbahaya yang dipancarkan Matahari dan bintang-bintang lainnya ke ruang angkasa sebelum sampai ke Bumi.

Sifat lapisan-lapisan langit yang hanya dapat ditemukan secara ilmiah di masa kini tersebut, telah dinyatakan berabad-abad lalu dalam Al Qur’an. Ini sekali lagi membuktikan bahwa Al Qur’an adalah firman Allah.

SEMESTA Magazine 1/2007
Click here for Interactive Online Flip Magazine (SEMESTA), Language : Malay

[nazrey]

Angkasawan hurt in tussle with robbers
Thursday November 22, 2007
By KULDEEP S. JESSY

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Angkasawan Mej Dr Faiz Khaleed sustained injuries in a robbery after two parang-wielding men attacked him and a friend outside his house in Taman Mawar, Cheras, here early Wednesday.

Dr Faiz was slashed on his left hand in the 2am incident. He did not lose anything, but the robbers snatched a gold chain from his friend.

He has been admitted to the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Jalan Ampang here and his condition was reported as stable.

At the hospital, his mother Mazenah Mohamad said Dr Faiz had gone to have supper with two other friends at about 11pm on Tuesday, and returned home later.

”One of the robbers pushed my son and he fell while the other robber placed a parang on the neck of my son's friend,” she said.

Mazenah said her son got up and tried to fight with the two men and was slashed.

“At this point, he pressed the auto gate remote and when the door started to open, the two suspects fled,” she added.

While fleeing , one of the suspects managed to snatch the friend's chain.

A team of policemen arrived at the hospital around 6pm and took a statement from Dr Faiz.

Dr Faiz, who is a military dentist, was shortlisted along with orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor to be the first Malaysian in space. On Oct 10, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar made history by becoming the first Malaysian to fly to space.

[nazrey]

Copyright © 2007 Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd . All rights reserved.

[haze]

Spot Light: Better 'eye' in space for Malaysia
By : Sonia Ramachandran


The RazakSAT as it will look in space. — Pictures courtesy of ATSB


KUALA LUMPUR: Weighing 180kg and with a 2.5m resolution, the country's second remote-sensing satellite is set to provide images of Malaysia every 100 minutes.

Currently, a commercial satellite passes over Malaysia a maximum of four times a day.

The RazakSAT, ready since early last year, is expected to be launched into space by the middle of next year using the Falcon 1 launch vehicle from Omelek island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The satellite was jointly developed by Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (ATSB) and a South Korean company, Satellite Technology Research Center Initiative Co Ltd.

Although the launch was planned for early this year, the RazakSAT programme has been delayed because of the development of Falcon 1.

The cost of the RazakSAT programme is RM60 million.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis said Malaysia was currently buying its images from other countries.

"We are spending RM18 million on a three-year contract to buy images from one satellite. Now, we want to increase our capacity in manufacturing satellites and produce our images instead of buying them from other countries," he said.

Also in the pipeline, he said, were deals to manufacture remote-sensing satellites for other countries

"We are very excited about this as we now have the capacity to build and export. Many countries need images to manage floods and the economy, among other things. They need satellites for these."

The country's first remote-sensing satellite, TiungSAT, launched into space in 2000, has four cameras compared with RazakSAT's one. However, TiungSAT has only a 78m resolution which means it can only capture images of vast areas such as oceans and mountain ranges.

"TiungSAT's images are more useful for weather patterns as they capture large areas and geographical features, including sedimentation. RazakSAT's 2.5m resolution, however, can zoom in on a large vehicle," said ATSB senior general manager Norhizam Hamzah.

These images, he said, would be good for mapping purposes, land utilisation, forestry and town planning, as well as agriculture, as the health and yield of crops could be monitored.

"It can be a very important decision-making tool even for commercial purposes, as you can estimate crop yields and forecast its market prices.

"It can also be used for security purposes as the satellite will be able to capture large movements of forces, such as a convoy of trucks."

Norhizam said RazakSAT's resolution was about the same as the commercial satellite Spot-5, but at a tenth of its cost.

He said, generally, remote-sensing satellites orbit near 90 degrees to the equator but the RazakSAT would be orbiting at a nine-degree incline to the equator which would allow it to capture images of the country every 100 minutes.

On TiungSAT, Norhizam said it was still orbiting but had outlived its use.

"TiungSAT was designed for a two-year mission but has lasted four years. It detected cosmic radiation from space and we now have a map of all the radiation it experienced within the orbit it passed."

[nazrey]

Angkasawan icon for NS
Sunday March 2, 2008
TheStar



Over the moon: Mej Dr Faiz surrounded by NS trainees after the ceremony
in which he was announced as the programme’s icon in Pekan yesterday. —
Bernama

PEKAN: Mejar Dr Faiz Khaleed has been appointed icon for the National Service (NS) programme.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who made the announcement yesterday, said that Dr Faiz would be able to enhance the image of the programme as well as highlight its benefits to youngsters.

The election fever too has caught on with Dr Faiz. In his acknowledgement speech, he thanked the Government for choosing him as the “candidate” for the programme.

Everyone at the event including Najib roared with laughter.

Dr Faiz, in NS uniform, immediately apologised and said that he was honoured to be the icon.

“I pledge to give my utmost commitment to help the trainees get maximum benefits from the programme which is aimed at character building,” he said yesterday.

Among those present were Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, NS council chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye and department director-general Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil.

In his speech, Najib said Dr Faiz was chosen as the icon as he had gone through extraordinary experiences, especially the tough training to become an astronaut.

“The icon will be a role model for the trainees as well as the younger generation, he said.

[nazrey]

Aim high, urges space pioneer
Tuesday April 1, 2008
TheStar



Life-changing experience: Dr Sheikh Muszaphar giving his talk at USM.

LIKE cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who was the first human to travel into space and astronaut Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon, angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor wants to fuel the imagination of the nation.

Malaysia’s first angkasawan said his mission was not merely to travel into space but to come home and inspire the young generation.

“My mission is also to change the mindset of Malaysians – especially the young. I believe that one day, we can even launch our own rocket into space.

“I have wanted to be an angkasawan since I was 10 years old. Along the way, I have been a model, doctor and restaurant owner. It took me 25 years to fulfil my dreams but I did it.

“Do not be afraid to try new things. Because I believe in myself, I know that no matter which field I am in, I will succeed.

“Nothing is out of reach if you believe in yourself. Write down your dreams on posters and put it up in your room.

“Read it out loud every day and it will inspire you to strive towards success,” he said, adding that it was a fallacy to say that women were less capable than men.

“My Russian Soyuz 15-S mission crew members were Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malechencko and American Peggy Whitson. Peggy is the International Space Station (ISS) commander and she is very capable.

“In fact, I think women are mentally stronger than men,” he said during the closing of the Brain Awareness Week (BAW) 2008 at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Dewan Budaya recently.

He was delivering a talk on ‘Brain in Space: Our New Frontier’.

Sharing his space experience with more than 500 students from all over the country, he said he had always insisted on being called an angkasawan even when undergoing training in Russia.

“In Russia, they are called cosmonauts and in America, they are astronauts. I think as a Malaysian, the correct term is angkasawan. We must be proud of our culture and language.

“It was very difficult for me to learn the Russian language so everywhere I went, I would say ‘Ya La Blu Tibia’ (‘I love you’ in Russian) to everyone. They really appreciated me trying to learn their language,” he said, adding that it was not easy to become an angkasawan.

“I went through so many physical and mental tests. I even had to answer a 1,000-question personality evaluation that included questions like ‘Do you like to sleep with one or two pillows?’

“Everything I said and did was evaluated by a team of psychiatrists to make sure that I was mentally fit for the mission.

“I had always been afraid of heights. I went bungee jumping every now and then to get over my fear,” he said.

Among the questions asked were whether Dr Sheikh Muszaphar played football in space and how space has changed his perception of life.

“Unfortunately, I did not play football in space – I would have loved to though. I did however play the gasing in space and because there was no gravity, it spun for more than a day. I actually got tired of waiting for it to stop,” he said.

He added that the experience in space taught him to look at the “bigger picture”.

“Nowadays, I don’t care what is being said about me. I worry more about trying to make the world a better place,” he said.

Also present was USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.

[The Usual Suspect]

They should stop parading him around like a clown

[lesart]

Soyuz capsule carries Korean astronaut

By DOUGLAS BIRCH, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 8, 6:19 PM ET


BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - As a Russian Soyuz spacecraft rose into the bright blue sky Tuesday, spectators held their breaths, South Koreans celebrated their first astronaut and the astronaut's mother fainted.

The flight itself — launched from the same pad that sent Yuri Gagarin and Sputnik into space — seemed flawless. The spacecraft lifted off within seconds of its scheduled departure and delivered its crew into orbit about 10 minutes later.

Russia's space scientists and engineers, who struggled for over a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, seem to have made the risky and dramatic business of sending people into orbit almost routine.

"Everything goes like Swiss watches" on Soyuz flights, said Christian Feichtinger, who has witnessed a number of launches at the Baikonur Cosmodrome as head of the European Space Agency's Moscow office.

A zipper broke Tuesday on the space suit of Sergei Volkov, 35, the commander of the Soyuz mission, but the suit passed a pressure test and he was cleared for flight.

The Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to deliver Volkov, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, 43, and Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old South Korean bioengineer, to the international space station Thursday.

Despite the seeming routine, the sight of the 164-feet-high rocket arcing through the cloudless sky still stirred deep emotions.

Relatives, friends and colleagues stood in silence watching the huge vehicle rise as though weightless from the launch pad. The ground shook and the roar of the engines made conversation impossible more than a mile away.

Moments later Yi's mother, Jung Kum-suk, screamed and collapsed as Russian medics in orange jumpsuits rushed to her aid. Officials said later that she had recovered.

At about the same time, her daughter became the first Korean and the youngest woman ever to fly into space.

The launch triggered celebrations in South Korea, where thousands gathered near city hall in Seoul to watch on giant television screens. Live broadcasts showed Yi inside the capsule smiling and waving and giving the thumbs-up sign.

"The birth of the first South Korean astronaut is a joy to the people and will give a big hope to the growing generations," President Lee Myung-bak told the crowd.

South Korea paid Russia $20 million for the launch, and staged a competition that drew 36,000 applicants to become the country's first astronaut.

Ko San, a mathematician, was originally supposed to fly on the Soyuz on Tuesday. He was relegated to the backup crew in March after he was accused of removing technical materials from a cosmonaut training center library without authorization.

The drama of Yi's rise and Ko's fall inspired headlines in South Korea and Russia. Ko apologized and shrugged off his disappointment. His employer, the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute, has rebuked him.

Ko watched the launch at Baikonur — located in Kazakhstan but controlled by Russia — and called Yi well prepared. He felt anxious, he said, as he watched the rocket accelerate into the sky.

"I have no religion, but I prayed for the success of the flight," said Ko. Earlier, he had circulated among the crowd at the launch, smiling, having his photo taken and handing out yellow wildflowers from the Kazakh steppes.

The Soyuz flight was the first space flight for both cosmonauts and marked a milestone for the mission commander. With Tuesday's flight, Volkov became the first second-generation astronaut or cosmonaut to reach space.

Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, is a decorated cosmonaut from the Soviet era. On his last journey, he left Earth as a Soviet citizen and returned as a citizen of the new Russian Federation, following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The elder Volkov said he had mixed feelings as he said farewell to his son. "It's hard for me because I know what is ahead for them and I know how hard it is," he said, with his Hero of the Soviet Union medal pinned to his gray business suit.

The younger Volkov and his crew mates will spend the next two days crammed into formfitting seats in the small spacecraft. Then comes the delicate task of docking the Soyuz to the international space station.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, 73, who became the first man to walk in space in 1965 and was at one time the chief of cosmonaut training, said Volkov would make his father proud.

"He is a very serious guy, a very good pilot," Leonov said, adding he had known the elder Volkov for 35 years and the young cosmonaut since he was a toddler.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, was also at the launch: another reminder of how many firsts the Soviet space program has racked up.

During the days before the flight, Yi, Volkov and Kononenko observed many of the traditions that have evolved since Gagarin became the first man to travel to space in 1961.

Soviet and later Russian space travelers by tradition stay in the guarded Cosmonaut Hotel in the city of Baikonur. On Monday night, the crew — like the crews before them — were slated to watch "White Sun of the Desert," the classic Soviet film set in the early 1920s with no obvious connection to space travel.

On launch day, as custom demands, Yi, Volkov and Kononenko traveled to the launch site aboard a bus with a blue stripe, while the backup crew traveled in one with a yellow stripe.

Yi plans to conduct 18 scientific experiments during her nine days on the space station and has also pledged to cook a Korean meal there. On Saturday, she will sing to mark Cosmonauts' Day.

Volkov and Kononenko are scheduled to spend six months as part of the orbiting station's crew. They will join American astronaut Garrett Reisman, who arrived last month on the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour.

Yi is to return to Earth on April 19 along with two of the station's other current occupants, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko.

=============================================

I noticed that in blogosphere, lots of people were very keen to downplay Dr Sheikh Muszaphar's achievement, where he was often reduced from being a cosmonaut to a mere space tourist. The fact that he was chosen from a pool of thousands applicant, undergone a serious training at Star City and did performed some genuine scientifical works up there at ISS does not matter to a lot of people. I guess a space mission is nothing to shout about unless the technology is our?

That wasn't the sentiment in South Korea. Korean, and not just their government's official mouthpiece, seems genuinely proud with their cosmonaut. People were cheering on the street in front of giant TV screen in Seoul (I saw that on aljazeera). In bar, toasts were proposed in the name of their cosmonaut. In random interview, almost everyone in Korea has something positive to say about their nation's space mission, which is essentially identical to ours in their execution and objective.

Are we as a nation, too hard to please? Or does Korean in general has an overly-inflated sense of nationalism?

[Tulsa]

Originally Posted by lesart

I noticed that in blogosphere, lots of people were very keen to downplay Dr Sheikh Muszaphar's achievement, where he was often reduced from being a cosmonaut to a mere space tourist. The fact that he was chosen from a pool of thousands applicant, undergone a serious training at Star City and did performed some genuine scientifical works up there at ISS does not matter to a lot of people. I guess a space mission is nothing to shout about unless the technology is our?

That wasn't the sentiment in South Korea. Korean, and not just their government's official mouthpiece, seems genuinely proud with their cosmonaut. People were cheering on the street in front of giant TV screen in Seoul (I saw that on aljazeera). In bar, toasts were proposed in the name of their cosmonaut. In random interview, almost everyone in Korea has something positive to say about their nation's space mission, which is essentially identical to ours in their execution and objective.

Are we as a nation, too hard to please? Or does Korean in general has an overly-inflated sense of nationalism?

Koreans are koreans. Malaysians are malays, chinese, indians and "lain-lain".

[travellator]

more on the first koreanaut

Korea: Astronaut Arrives At Space Station
2008-04-11 13:42

SEOUL, KOREA: Yi So-yeon became the first Korean to arrive at the International Space Station, orbiting 338km above the Earth's surface, last night.

The Russian Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, which blasted off Tuesday evening (8 Apr) from Kazakhstan, carried Yi and cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko to the ISS after circling the Earth 34 times to adjust its orbit.

A welcome ceremony and interviews of the astronauts were to be broadcast live by SBS.

It takes three hours for the Soyuz spaceship to complete the automatic docking process to let the crew enter the ISS. Manual control takes place in emergencies.

Yi is to conduct 18 scientific experiments during her nine-day stay at the ISS. The 29-year-old biosystems engineer will observe and photograph meteorological phenomena when passing the night side of the Earth, as well as the effects of microgravity on the human face, plants and fruit flies, and the compounding of metallic and organic materials. The human face swells and eyes bulge out in outer space, but no specific data has been released on this so far.

Several Russian media outlets reported on Wednesday that Yi and the two cosmonauts had to walk up the stairs to the spacecraft at the launch pad on Tuesday, instead of taking the lift. Russia's state-run press agency RIA Novosti attributed the inconvenience to a conflict between the officials of the Baikonur space centre and rocket developer Energia.

Korea reportedly paid Russia some US$20 million for Yi's mission. It spent another $6.7 million to select the astronaut, promote the project and pay labour costs for those involved. The Korean government said it put up about $6.15 million (6 billion won) and the rest came from the state-funded Korea Aerospace Research Institute and private organisations, including national broadcaster SBS.

KARI expects the astronaut project to arouse Koreans' interest in aerospace science and technology, and increase investment in research and development of basic sciences.

A survey by Hur Hee-young, professor at the Korea Aerospace University, showed that Koreans believed the nation's astronaut programme was worth about 14,000 won per citizen.

Multiplied by the 34 million Korean adults aged 20 and above, the perceived socioeconomic value of the project amounts to 478 billion won, Hur claimed. (By KIM SO-HYUN/ The Korea Herald/ ANN)

[nazrey]

Results of space study out in a month
Sunday April 13, 2008
TheStar

KUALA LUMPUR: The results of the research into cancer cell, protein and bacteria carried out by national astronaut Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha at the International Space Station will be known in a month.

“We are still waiting for the results from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) scientists who are in Japan. I was told that the cells multiplied very well.

“I hope the scientists can present the findings of the research not only for our benefit but also for the international community,” Dr Sheikh Muszaphar told reporters after opening Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar) 10th anniversary celebration yesterday.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, 35, went into orbit with the Russian Soyuz TMA11 on Oct 10 last year. – Bernama

[cooltemper]

Any news or info from this thread will be just another JOKES of that day.

The whole mission is totally a joke of the century, somemore telling the word result of the so called scientific study which can be carry out at earth.


The whole world are waiting for the test at Geneva in July for atoms collision, and not the test result from Malaysia Boleh Space Programme.

[travellator]

more on korea's first cosmonaut at the space station

First Korean astronaut to sing in space
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...IcUerkpOTAEnrQ

Korean cosmonaut shares culture in space
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science...in_space/1221/

S. Korean astronaut to return with experiment samples, data
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/tech...01700320F.HTML

First S. Korean astronaut vows to dedicate herself to development of space science
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/engli...al/281714.html

She also said five other fellow astronauts staying at the ISS enjoyed kimchi and other traditional Korean food she brought with her. The Korean-made "space" food was served on Saturday in celebration of Cosmonautics Day which marks the first-ever manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, she said.

"Their reaction was particularly good for instant noodles, kimchi and chilli paste," she said. "I am not certain if they will become common fare in space, but others enjoyed the food I brought and if there are any left I plan to leave some behind for others to enjoy."

[nazrey]

Read more, urges Angkawasan
Tuesday June 17, 2008
TheStar



Dr Sheikh signing autographs at the launching of the carnival.

READ at least one book in a month, advises Angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.

The Angkasawan who has been chosen as the nation’s Reading Idol (Idola Membaca) this year, made an appearance during the launch of Penang’s Reading Carnival.

The two-day carnival organised by the state library kicked off yesterday and will include a read-ing session by Malaysia’s first Angkasawan in Seberang Jaya at 10.45am today.

“You should read at least one book per month. Reading will enrich your life. Knowledge is power,” he said.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar who lists motivational and astronomy books as well as political autobio-graphies as his favourites, said the reading habit of Malaysians must change.

He said that the Internet was a good place to cultivate a reading habit and a cheaper option than buying a lot of books.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar said parents played a vital role in encouraging their children to read.

“When I was 10 years old and very much interested in astronomy, my father would buy me books on the subject. He also bought me an encyclopaedia to satisfy my curiosity,” he explained.

[The Usual Suspect]

what he really meant to say was 'read more of my books'

:P