Angkasa1

Well, congratulations to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor as being the first Malaysian in space. That would be a record of sorts. Yeah, it is the culmination of a 'journey' which I was a part of, starting in September 2005. I was still in Serdang Hospital then, and a part of the initial team of doctors screening aspiring Angkasa1's.

I missed the launch last night which was carried live on ASTRO - they even dedicated a single channel for the whole duration he remained in space, which is a grand total of about 10 days. A friend of mine said that while the cameras were trained on him, he didn't do much apart from playing with a pen in zero-gravity. What do you expect? After all, he is not a real astronaut; some 'jealous' quarters (perhaps rightly so) were classifying him as a spaceflight participant.

I wish him the best; after all this is an experience of a lifetime. Hope he does the country proud.

Who's next? Hmm...when are we due to buy more Soviet fighters?