Malaysia Spaceman returns today

MOSCOW: Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will return to earth today after an 11-day stint in space.

He will receive a warm welcome from a Malaysian delegation, which includes his parents, led by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Angkasawan will return with Russians Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov on board the previous mission’s vehicle Soyuz TMA-10 or Soyuz 14S, which will undock from the docking port at the International Space Station’s functional cargo block or Zarya at 11.15am (3.15pm Malaysian time).

The spacecraft will travel for just over three hours before landing within a 10km radius in Arkylk, Kazakhstan, at 2.37pm (6.37pm Malaysian time).

The Soyuz TMA-11 or Soyuz 15S was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct 10, bringing Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, new ISS commander Peggy Whitson and Russian Yuri Malenchencko to the ISS two days later.

Najib, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis, Malaysian Ambassador to Russia Datuk Mohamad Khalis Ali Hassan and other dignitaries will watch the landing sequences from the Mission Control Centre here.

Malaysians, meanwhile, can watch the historic event live on Astro Channel 58.

Upon landing, a recovery team including the Malaysian Mission Flight Surgeon and Russian crew support personnel will reach the landing area in a convoy of Russian military helicopters.

Once the capsule touches down, the helicopters will land nearby to begin removing the crew and set up a portable medical tent.

Russian technicians will open the module’s hatch and begin removing the crew one at a time before the cargo is retrieved. The crew will be seated in special reclining chairs for initial medical tests and to re-adapt to earth’s gravity.

Back at mission control, the participating agencies will hold a press conference after the crew’s safe retrieval, with Najib taking questions on behalf of Malaysia.

Officials from the Russian Federal Space Agency, Nasa and Malaysia will then congratulate each other for a successful mission.

This will be followed with a simple traditional landing ceremony led by Najib, Jamaludin, the scientists and technical crew members at the Malaysian Technical Control Centre at mission control – the National Angkasawan Programme mission logo sticker will be placed on the room wall to commemorate completion of the mission and the officials will sign on the wall.

Meanwhile, two hours after landing, the Soyuz crew will be flown via helicopters to a staging site in Kustanai, near the Kazakh-Russian border, where Kazakh officials will welcome them.

At 7pm (11pm Malaysian time), the crew will board a military plane to fly to the Chkalovsky Airfield adjacent to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia. They are expected to land there at 8pm (midnight Malaysia).

At the Chkalovsky airport, the delegation including Dr Sheikh Muszaphar’s parents Datin Zuraida Sheikh Ahmad and Datuk Sheikh Mustapha Shukor will be waiting to welcome him home.

Our first Malaysian "Angkasawan"

BAIKONUR (Kazakhstan): Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor’s childhood dream came true when he blasted off into space, but his hope, before leaving Earth, was that he would be just the first of many more Malaysian Angkasawan to come.

“I’ve dreamt of this since I was 10 years old, and now I am living the dream of all Malaysians,” he said, just hours before launching into space at 9.22pm (Malaysian time) yesterday.

The dashing cosmonaut hopes his “impossible dream”, once it comes true, will make young boys and girls believe they can reach for the stars.

“I want to inspire them as the first Malaysian in space, just like Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) and Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon) still inspire many today.

“I hope to make them believe in their capabilities and get them interested in science, mathematics and engineering.

“Hopefully after me, there will be more Angkasawan in the future,” he said.

The orthopaedic surgeon, however, admits he expected to be the chosen one.

“To be honest I was not really surprised because I worked hard, was focused and motivated. I sacrificed everything – my life, surgery, business, my loved ones and modelling,” he said.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, however, believes that his trip to space is secondary to what he will learn and bring back from the experience.

“More important is what I can contribute to Malaysia, such as the technologies I learned from Russia that I hope to share with our scientists.

“I hope Malaysia will rally to enter a new era and one day, we’ll have our own space rocket and become a leader in the aerospace arena,” he said.

On a personal level, he looks forward to the life-changing experience in space, including gaining new spiritual experience in the skies.

“I want to share my experience of fasting and praying in space with Malaysians and all Muslims. I think space will change my life perception,” he said.

Fully trained and prepared, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar was calm and ready the night before his big day.

He spent his time reading the Quran and conducting sembahyang hajat, and calling his family and loved one.

He wants to succeed in his mission so as not to let down the scientists who had spent three years preparing for the experiments he will conduct.

Source: The Star