Topic: - Abt the Final 2
SHAH ALAM: Malaysia's next astronaut, Major Dr Faiz Khaleed, 27, is not encouraged to marry before his space mission in 2011.
Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis said this was to ensure that he could give full attention to his training before the blast-off.
"I'm afraid that if he (Dr Faiz) were to get married (earlier), he would be thinking of his wife and children and this could hamper his training and when he is in space," he told reporters at an Aidilfitri open house hosted by his ministry at Sirim Bhd here today.
Jamaludin, however, said it was up to Dr Faiz to decide when he wanted to end his bachelorhood as it was merely a suggestion and not an obligation.
The country's first astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, 34, recently announced that he would marry before 2009.
Jamaludin said the government would send Dr Faiz for training soon after it received a formal invitation from the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) to join a space mission at the latest in 2011.
"I have also informed NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) that we will be visiting the agency at the end of this year or early next year to discuss the possibility of Dr Faiz doing a stint there."
He said Dr Faiz would be joined by a secondary crew member who would be chosen soon.
Jamaludin said two astronaut candidate finalists from the first-round selection, namely Malaysia Airlines (MAS) pilot Mohamed Faiz Kamaluddin, 34, and the sole woman candidate, S. Vanajah, 35, an engineer, would join the finalists in the second intake.
"The search for the final two candidates will be decided by the panellists led by Tun Hanif Omar who determined the selection criteria in collaboration with Russia and NASA," he said. One of the successful candidates will be Dr Faiz's back-up crew member.
Jamaludin said the ministry would propose to the Cabinet to declare Oct 10 as Astronaut Day to commemorate the day Dr Sheikh Muszaphar went into orbit.
On the proposed purchase of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft which took the astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS), he said if the negotiation succeeded it would be turned into a monument to commemorate Astronaut Day.
Source: Bernama.com