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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
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...
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
AFundi Mawi!!
...
::shrug::
AFundi Mawi!!
AFundi Mawi!!
One way trip!!
If you're not in Malaysia, you don't get it
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.