"Sheikh Muszaphar, a 35-year-old orthopedic surgeon, is to spend about 10 days on the station, performing experiments involving diseases and the effects of microgravity and space radiation on cells and genes.
His parents watched the liftoff from an observation area, praying and in tears.
"I'm happy for my country, for Russia, for the United States and everybody," said his father, Sheikh Mustapha Shukor.
Sheikh Muszaphar is not the first Muslim in space — Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman joined the crew of the shuttle Discovery in 1985. Nevertheless, Malaysian newspapers on Wednesday devoted several pages and published special pullouts about the mission, which coincides with the last days of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast daily from dawn until sundown.
Sheikh Muszaphar has vowed to keep fasting and praying in space, even though Malaysian clerics said he could postpone the fast until he returns to Earth.
He took vacuum-packed Malaysian food, including skewered chicken, banana rolls, fermented soybean cakes and ginger jelly, to mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan this weekend, in space.
On Tuesday, he told reporters at Baikonur that his trip will be an inspiration for his southeast Asian nation as well as to other Muslims all over the world.
"It's a small step for me, but a great leap for the Malaysian people," he said, rephrasing Neil Armstrong's famous words after the 1969 Apollo landing on the Moon.
The $25 million agreement for a Malaysian astronaut to fly to space was negotiated in 2003 along with a $900 million deal for Malaysia to buy 18 Russian fighter jets.
Whitson and Malenchenko, 45, are to replace two of the station's current crew, cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, who are due to return to Earth on Oct. 21 long with Sheikh Muszaphar."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Omg. See, there's nothing impossible for Malaysian people to go up on space, babe!
I've seen their launching on TV1 last night and to be frank, the moment when the spacecraft named Soyuz TMA-11 was boarding, I was extremely excited, touched and proud at the same time! A Malaysian was in that spacecraft!! And he'll be on space for 10 days for .. ya, read it yourself up there. Hope he could make it done very well and return to Earth with bloody healthy. But yea, he couldn't celebrate the Eid Fitr with his family.. How pity :(
So Malaysian, doncha just PROUD over this lucky young man??? *Biggggg Smileeeeee*
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