Do you want to touch the sky?

Do you have what it takes to be the first Malaysian astronaut to travel in space on board a Russian space craft? If you do, you should register at http://www.angkasawan.gov.my at a shot of having the honor to go where no other Malaysian has gone before.

It is interesting to note that they are not just limiting the field of candidates to those from the military or the academics for the choice to be Malaysian’s first person in space. Since this space mission is part of the arrangement the country made with the Russians for buying their combat fighters, we don’t really have too much to invest in this mission other than the person’s time and sacrifice during the grueling training period before being able to join the Russian cosmonauts on their trip to space. According to the Malaysian National Space Agency (NSA), what they need is someone who is fit, determined, and intelligent with the correct aptitude.

I have to admit that I did go online to check out the preliminary application form for "angkasawan", our local word for astronaut, candidate that they have on the NSA website. The form asked for basic personal details, educational history, work history and some minimal health details. I was really tempted to fill in an application since I’ve always dreamed of being able to travel into space but considering my borderline hypertension and weight problems I decided against it. Let someone else better suited for the job fill in the application instead of people like me who would only be wasting byte space on their online database with our applications.

Those of us who will be staying behind can still dream of the outer expanse of space as we put our hopes and dreams on the shoulders of the one who will be carrying it on wings of fire.