3-2-1 blast off

Malaysia sent its first man to space just now at 2122hr local time. Dr Sheikh Mustafar – pic (an orthopedic) was chosen to be Msia’s first ‘angkasawan’(astronaut /cosmonaut) after 5 stages of grueling screening of previously 3,000 candidates. The final selection between him and another candidate Captain Dr. Faiz (dental surgeon) was only announced 1 day before blast off. Both of them had undergone training for the past one year in Russia.

Everybody in the house was glued to the TV watching history in the making (except for my husband who cannot miss his weekly pool session and watch it with his friends at the outlet where they were playing). Not until the Sayuz spacecraft safely detached from its grid and all you can see is the sparkling debris against the blackened sky/space that I found myself breathing again. All the while I was holding my breath!! It’s like watching one of those going to space movies on HBO but only this time it is real, with a Malaysian in it. I can’t describe the overwhelm feeling and sea of emotion that went thru me that moment. All I know that tears of joy and pride were flowing freely which I can’t seem to hold (if you have read enough of my nonsense previously, you probably know that I am a crying freak even for little things). My kids are so use to this display of emotion that the reason they turned their heads away from the tube and looked at me was to make sure that bingo, yes their mom cried! Yeah, I know it looked ridiculous but I just can’t help it
Anyways our Angkasawan will be on board of International Space Station for the next 10 days where he stills observing fasting and later the Eid celebration (Aidil Fitri) on Oct 13.

50 years ago - my grandparents witnessed Malaya’s first declaration of independence and 50 years later, my family and I witnessed the first Malaysian blast off to space.

I quote Buzz LightYear from Toy Story ‘to infinity and beyond’…