Sunday, August 5, 2007
Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha (born July 27, 1972) is scheduled to become the first Malaysian astronaut to go into space when he is launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 on October 10, 2007 with ISS Expedition 16. He is flying under an agreement with Russia through the Angkasawan program, and will return to Earth with the Expedition 15 crew members Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov after nine days aboard the station.[1]
During a NASA news conference with the Expedition 16 crew on July 23, 2007, Shukor stated he hoped to be able to take various live cell cultures to study during his flight.
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sheikh Muszaphar obtained his high school education at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA in Muar. He then pursued his MBBS medical degree at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.
Sheikh Muszaphar is an orthopedic doctor, and a trainee lecturer in medicine with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Previously, he has served in Hospital Seremban (1998), Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (1999) and Hospital Selayang (2000-2001)
He is also a model, and has modeled for many commercials and advertisements.
He and three other finalists were selected at the beginning of 2006 for the Malaysian Angkasawan spaceflight program. After completing initial training at Star City in Russia, he and Faiz Khaleed were selected to undergo an 18-month training stint in Russia, at the end of which he was chosen as the prime crew member, while Faiz Khaleed will serve as back-up.
Source : Wikipedia
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