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Malaysians to Vote on First Astronaut
wengkius writes "According to BBC, Malaysians will be voting for their candidate of choice in the nationwide search for an astronaut to be sent to the ISS on board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Once its 11,000 would-be astronauts have been whittled down to a handful, their details and updates on their progress will be posted on the internet. If the contest proves popular and the government charges for the votes, it may even be able to cover the cost of its space program."
Malaysian Astronaut Idol
Ignorance is not a crime; neither should it be a way of life
Congress control $ = inmates run the asylum
Except you get voted off the planet instead of an island.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Charging for votes seems a bit odd to me; if you wanted to be in space you really could just buy your vote.
crazy dynamite monkey
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_050829_mal aysia_moon.html NASA says they are going to reach the moon in about the same time the Malaysians say they want to go the moon. NASA believes this is possiblebecause of the fact that we have all this former technology to use (Space Shuttle and Apollo). Malaysia has none of that.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Just as long as Simon Cowell doesn't make the judging panel (^^)
When the posters fear their moderators, there is tyranny; when the moderators fears the posters, there is liberty.
And some people complain that NASA's manned space program was a waste of money!
"So far, only 200 short listed candidates have managed to run 3.5km (2.2 miles) in under 20 minutes and pass a medical."
Any reasonably healthy person should be able to do that. I know I risk sounding very arrogant but don't send someone into space just for the sake of doing it. Pick someone with high qaulifications and do something useful. It's really a waste of money and an unnecessary risk otherwise.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
"If the contest proves popular and the government charges for the votes, it may even be able to cover the cost of its space programme." How do you fund your space program? Create a competition... its actually a fairly ingenious idea, minus the fact that its laughable of course...
This Island Earth?
I vote for their Prime Minister. But not his spacesuit.
--
make install -not war
I'm curious how the Malaysian version would be called.
Malonauts?
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
They should send up seven people but the re-entry capsule can only hold one.
Liberals call everyone Nazis yet they are the closest thing to it.
Actually... when the Mir Space Station was scheduled to go down the Survivor people tried to buy it from the Russian government...
surely sending any human into space is to some extent done for the sake of it at a level of unncessary expense and risk? Speaking of fitness, there is a side issue here, the Malaysian climate can be very oppressive; hot and very, very humid. It doesn't give any details, but if they picked the "wrong" day for this then that time would be more impressive than you think in view of the conditions.
Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
I don't know, but seeing as how Mark Shuttleworth and Dennis Tito have been labeled Cosmonauts after completing their training, the same may apply here. One definition of Cosmonaut out there is "A crew member of a space mission launched by the former Soviet Union"
I would've thought a medical test and some other kind of intelligence test would be better than voting, would'nt it?
Can't read the article right now, but I am guessing the way they "charge" for the votes is to take a percentage of the SMS fees. So, for the voter, it just costs the same as sending a text message, and the government will have a deal with the local telecoms (if they aren't state owned already) to get a share of those fees.
A witty saying proves you are wittier than the next guy.
The Malaysia space agency.... http://www.baksa.gov.my/
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Ahhh pooo... Im sorry that I am dobule posting but I found the actual astronaut program website. http://www.angkasawan.gov.my/ Now here is a stupid question. Why doesn't slashdot post this in addition to a news report.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
But seriously, ... no, I have nothing serious.
Slash-for-Thought
The goatse man would be the next to be launched into space...
Monstar L
If the Malaysian government is considering this, then Malaysians must have been expressing an interest in a space program for some time now. I can see what would happen if NASA did it - nothing because no one really cares. :-(
A: "Want to vote for the next cosmonaut?"
B: "No, Kanye is whining in the mic how the gubbemint hates black people..."
Weren't we supposed to be already colonizing Mars?
Look closer. Most posts are cracking jokes at the expense of reality shows.
In the same way that cosmonauts come from Cosmussia
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
I wonder if there will be a CowboyNeal option.
Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
Lies!
Next you'll probably tell us the A in U.S.A. stands for something else than Astron!
For those having their humor surgically removed, from wikkepedia: astronaut, cosmonaut, spationaut or taikonaut (yuhangyuan):
In the USA, a space traveller is called an astronaut. The term derives of the Greek words ástron ("star") and nautes, ("sailor"). For the most part, "cosmonaut" and "astronaut" are synonyms in all languages, and the usage of choice is often dictated by political reasons.
Taikonaut is sometimes used in English for astronauts from China by Western news media. The term was coined in May 1998 by Chiew Lee Yih from Malaysia, who used it first in newsgroups. Almost simultaneously, Chen Lan coined it for use in the Western media based on the term tàikng (), Chinese for space. In Chinese itself, however, a single term yháng yuán (, "universe navigator") has long been used for astronauts and cosmonauts. The closest term using taikong is a colloquialism tàikng rén (, "space human") which refers to people who have actually been in space. Official English text issued by the Chinese government uses astronaut.
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
Ok. I am now officially embressed to be a Malaysian. Seriously though, this isn't news at all. This is simply a ticket into space our goverment got from the Russians who offered it as a sweetener to close a deal on a fleet of MiG fighters.
I Seriously wish it was a one way ticket and they'd send our esteemed Defence Minister, who is also our useless ass of a Deputy Prime Minister.
PLEASE I BEG ALL OF YOU! MOVE ALONG! THERES NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!!!!
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
Just as long as they don't bring him back.
A pride of lions.
A gaggle of geese.
A murder of crows.
A vista of bugs.
How can you have voting if CowboyNeal is not on the list???
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
From this page:
...
...
Malaysia Could Be Hot Spot for Space Travel
Malaysia, according to a leading space authority, could be the next new focal point for space travel. Malaysia's central location makes it an attractive option for private commercial space travel companies and those interested in space exploration business, such as the Zero G Corporation and the Florida Space Authority. A 35-member Florida business delegation is scheduled to take a trip to Malaysia near the end of the month in order to look into investment and business possibilities.
Also, from an article titled Malaysia to launch five third-generation satellites:
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia said it would launch five third-generation satellites from a site in the United States as part of its ambitious plan to become a developed country in 2020 and to meet defence needs.
"We are moving to become an advanced economy and communications is important to meet our economic needs. Now we are relying on other people's satellites. For security needs for instance, can we completely rely on other people's satellites?"
The third-generation satellites offer higher-resolution images. They provide specific and timely data for mapping departments in agricultural countries and geographical information for companies located near the equatorial belt.
"This (the satellites) is for the strategic needs of the country. For our economic and defence needs of our country, we must have our own capacity in space," Jamaluddin added.
So, I guess even if Malaysia doesn't have any launchers themselves yet, they seem to have satellite construction down.
'Angkasawan'.
That's the Malay word for astronaut.
'Angkasa' means space.
'-wan' is a suffix to denote a man whose occupation is that of the word the suffix is attached to. It's similar to '-ician' (i.e dietician, electrician, politician) in English, but the Malay version is gender specific.
Also, if the person who goes turns out to be female, then we use the '-wati' suffix instead.
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
Insert "[1F13] Deep Space Homer" refrence... HERE!
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
What you forget is that the government agency in question is far more qualified to decide who is a capable astronaut than is the general populace. Also, the US is not a democracy. I'm not sure if the UK is, but I doubt it, as well.
Some things are handled best with a public vote. This is not one of them.
Are you kidding? It's exactly the way to advance the space program!
Go to any engineering school and tell 'em the next space program intake will be full of Asian hotties with PhDs and just try to stop them excelling. People only do great things for two reasons - ego, and sex. I've done engineering, and believe me, these guys *would* go into space to get laid.
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
"Funny when you think about it."
I had to look at it in a really shallow way to find the humor in it.
"Derp de derp."
Because I can think of a lot of people I'd like to launch into space.
They will pick someone very likeable and intelligent, but then the person will be asked if they are Muslim or not (Malaysia is full of Muslims). The candidate will say it shouldn't matter. And her chances of going into space will be dashed to bits.
Someone please mod parent up!!
AFundi Mawi!!
...
::shrug::
AFundi Mawi!!
AFundi Mawi!!
One way trip!!
If you're not in Malaysia, you don't get it
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS for certain hot topics in the US. imagine if it was set up like this, every year people vote freely online for which items should be put to public PAY elections. so lets say the top 52 items go to public online pay elections which occur weekly. for that topic of suggestion for new law, all of the info will be provided online with the best debaters on each side given 5 minutes to explain their case. the videos are free. as much information that is possible will be provided... this means ALL information. unfiltered. unchecked. the userbase will have a moderation and voting so the most legitimate details are ranked up so they will be seen. if you care about public voting, then spend 20 minutes a week, and make an informed opinion, but ONLY IF YOU CARE, because voting costs $1. $1, the fiat paper sensation sweeping the nation is the exact figure to charge when asking the question "is this worth ANYTHING to me"... if it is, then it should cost at least $1. that is what should define the value of a dollar. granted a gumball is essentially worthless, but change can still be provided and level of worthlessness is also variable from 0 to 100 cents. so, you charge a buck... make 52 INFORMED decisions about CREATING NEW LAWS at any level of government, or ELIMINATING COMPLETELY OLD LAWS. very important rule: CHANGING of laws is not allowed, and if a law is chosen to be eliminated a flag can be set if a new law which must go in effect before this law is officially eliminated... anyways, even if the laws didn't actually become law, but were green lighted to priority issues that must be simply voted to approve or deny, to pass, at least 61% must approve or deny. if that doesn't happen, then the issue will be revoted on every week until that does happen. if the public choses too they can run the same thing through again assuming it is the top 52 issues for the next year.
This is a ridiculous waste of public money to send what will effectively be a pretty boy into space on a tourist visa. In line with such great achievements as sending a Proton (our locally manufactured car) to the north pole, where rumor has it, it failed to start because um... it was plenty COLD.
Malaysia definitely needs to spend less on image and more on substance. I can't believe who'd think the population gets a kick out of seeing 'roti canai' (a local snack) floating in space and a bunch of 'hi moms' on the shuttle cam. This smacks of some business guy with a SMS voting engine looking to scam the population out of more cash.
What Malaysia should probably try to do is to make use of its relatively close proximity to the equator to become a launch hub.
NOnono!
;)
Padawan's occupation would be to 'occupy' Padme
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
As it stands in Malaysia, there is already
Why add another?
Why should I pay to help you choose your astronaut, and what makes you think I know anything about astronauts in any case?
Maybe I'd just choose the politician I liked the least, or a lawyer.
Now there's a thought. Maybe I'll pay after all, but on the condition it's a one-way ticket.
I'll vote for Sammy too - why not ? I'd just like the answer to one simple question. What's he going to do while he's up there ? In fact what do any of them do ? Seems to me to be a bit like climbing Everest - "because it was there". Once they're up, they hang around for a time and then come back down again.
How many beans make five, anyhow ?
If you have to play and "American" Idol style game to become one.... why not call them idolnauts.
See the Pictures of the Flood of '08
Sounds like a Mayan ritual to pick the villager who 'gets' to be sacrificed. This could be a good socio-psycholgical study to see what went through the minds of those Mayan votees.
OJ
"Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity."