| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan : A Russian rocket carrying Malaysia's first astronaut and the woman set to become the first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS) blasted off Wednesday from Baikonur.
A Soyuz rocket carrying Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and NASA's Peggy Whitson, thrust into the clear evening sky over the Kazakh steppe on a two-day voyage to the orbiting ISS.
The huge rocket travelled at 26,000 kilometres (16,155 miles) an hour and took just a few minutes to reach orbit.
Having shed its empty fuel tanks and entered orbit, the Soyuz capsule was to spend two days travelling to the space station.
On Tuesday, US astronaut Whitson voiced confidence in the voyage, during which she will oversee a major expansion of the ISS, which acts as a platform for international science cooperation and a testing ground for human habitation of space.
At a pre-launch press conference, a member of the Baikonur ground crew jokingly presented Whitson with an ornate Kazakh riding whip "so that in the presence of men they understand that you're the commander".
Whitson in turn flourished the whip, but said she hoped she wouldn't have to use it.
She then extolled the value of space travel and its ability to unite people of different cultures.
"One of the special things about the view of the Earth from space is that it is one planet and that it is very beautiful. I think it is a good illustration of the fact that there don't need to be any wars."
Muszaphar, meanwhile, said his trip, paid for by the Malaysian government, was a great step for his nation.
"I feel great. I just can't wait to go up - for the Malaysian people," Muszaphar told AFP as he headed for the launch pad after being helped into his spacesuit.
The 50-metre (160-foot) rocket adorned with the US, Malaysian and Russian flags was earlier raised into position at Baikonur, an arid stretch of the Kazakh steppe dotted with camels and the paraphernalia of 50 years of space flight.
Muszaphar was to spend nine days on the ISS, arriving at the orbiting station near the end of the holy month of Ramadan and staying there for the Eid festival, when he will treat the long-term crew to festive Malaysian food.
Malaysian officials have described the first ever space flight by a Malaysian as a milestone for their country, which is marking 50 years of independence.
Muszaphar, a 35-year-old doctor who has spent a year training for the flight in Russia, said Tuesday that he hoped to inspire Malaysians to further space achievements and that Malaysia should have its own spacecraft by 2020.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the start of modern space travel, which dates from the Soviet Union's launch of the first ever satellite, Sputnik 1, from Baikonur on October 4, 1957.
On his journey into space, Muszaphar will conduct experiments on behalf of Malaysia's Genome Institute, including tests on cancer cells.
One of very few Muslims to have travelled to space, he has said he will try to observe the fasting rules of Ramadan and when he gets back will share his experiences with other Muslims.
Malaysian religious authorities have prepared guidelines adapting religious rules to life on the ISS, which circles the Earth 16 times per calendar day, meaning that without special dispensation he would be obliged to pray 80 times in 24 hours.
The guidelines say that the astronaut need only pray five times a day and that the times should follow the location of the spacecraft's launch. - AFP/ch
|
