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Space News

Malaysians to Vote on First Astronaut 140

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the pick-me-pick-me dept.
wengkius writes "According to BBC, Malaysians will be voting for their candidate of choice in the nationwide search for an astronaut to be sent to the ISS on board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Once its 11,000 would-be astronauts have been whittled down to a handful, their details and updates on their progress will be posted on the internet. If the contest proves popular and the government charges for the votes, it may even be able to cover the cost of its space program."
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Malaysians to Vote on First Astronaut More

Malaysians to Vote on First Astronaut

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  • New on Fox... (Score:5, Funny)

    by pin_gween ( 870994 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:04PM (#13589993)
    Malaysian Astronaut Idol

  • Reality show (Score:5, Funny)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:04PM (#13589995)


    Except you get voted off the planet instead of an island.

  • Obligatory. (Score:1, Redundant)

    by Rahga ( 13479 )
    1) Buy a seat on Russian Spacecraft
    2) Charge your citizens to vote on who gets to fly. Bonus points for call-in votes during a TV show: Cosmonaut Idol.
    3) Profit!!!!
    • Cosmonaut: n. A Russian or Soviet astronaut.

      I'm curious how the Malaysian version would be called.
      Malonauts?

      • Re:Obligatory. (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Rahga ( 13479 )
        I don't know, but seeing as how Mark Shuttleworth and Dennis Tito have been labeled Cosmonauts after completing their training, the same may apply here. One definition of Cosmonaut out there is "A crew member of a space mission launched by the former Soviet Union"
      • In the same way that cosmonauts come from Cosmussia
        • Lies!
          Next you'll probably tell us the A in U.S.A. stands for something else than Astron!
        • Ofcourse not.

          For those having their humor surgically removed, from wikkepedia: astronaut, cosmonaut, spationaut or taikonaut (yuhangyuan) [wikipedia.org]:

          In the USA, a space traveller is called an astronaut. The term derives of the Greek words ástron ("star") and nautes, ("sailor"). For the most part, "cosmonaut" and "astronaut" are synonyms in all languages, and the usage of choice is often dictated by political reasons.

          ...

          Taikonaut is sometimes used in English for astronauts from China by Western news media

          • C'mon.. They will be called Idolnauts.

            If you have to play and "American" Idol style game to become one.... why not call them idolnauts.

      • Re:Obligatory. (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Viceice ( 462967 )
        'Angkasawan'.

        That's the Malay word for astronaut.

        'Angkasa' means space.

        '-wan' is a suffix to denote a man whose occupation is that of the word the suffix is attached to. It's similar to '-ician' (i.e dietician, electrician, politician) in English, but the Malay version is gender specific.

        Also, if the person who goes turns out to be female, then we use the '-wati' suffix instead.
    • Hang on, as a citizen, what do I get out of this?

      Why should I pay to help you choose your astronaut, and what makes you think I know anything about astronauts in any case?

      Maybe I'd just choose the politician I liked the least, or a lawyer.

      Now there's a thought. Maybe I'll pay after all, but on the condition it's a one-way ticket.

  • "charges for the votes" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by decipher_saint ( 72686 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:06PM (#13590008)
    Charging for votes seems a bit odd to me; if you wanted to be in space you really could just buy your vote.
    • Charging for votes is also simply a bad precedent for a government to set. If people get used to the government charging for votes, it may just end up that the government charges for *every* vote at some point in the future.

      Just a bad idea all around. Glad we got rid of that idea here.
      • Yeah. I am sure Malaysia is not a cesspool of political and voting corruption already or anything.

        Oh, and they have a great civil and human rights record too!

        Rolls eyes
      • Can't read the article right now, but I am guessing the way they "charge" for the votes is to take a percentage of the SMS fees. So, for the voter, it just costs the same as sending a text message, and the government will have a deal with the local telecoms (if they aren't state owned already) to get a share of those fees.
    • I think thats kind of the point, say you have Joe P Somebody who wants to get into space, what's to stop him setting up a few hundred mobiles to constantly message votes for him 24/7? Well if each vote costs say $1 then this method will not be very effective.
  • http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_050829_mal aysia_moon.html [space.com] NASA says they are going to reach the moon in about the same time the Malaysians say they want to go the moon. NASA believes this is possiblebecause of the fact that we have all this former technology to use (Space Shuttle and Apollo). Malaysia has none of that.
  • Just as long as Simon Cowell doesn't make the judging panel (^^)

  • Seriously... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Comatose51 ( 687974 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:12PM (#13590032) Homepage
    "The national space agency has already announced plans for a research programme to send the country's favourite foods into orbit and the selection process to find the Malaysian who will taste them in zero gravity is already well advanced."

    And some people complain that NASA's manned space program was a waste of money!

    "So far, only 200 short listed candidates have managed to run 3.5km (2.2 miles) in under 20 minutes and pass a medical."

    Any reasonably healthy person should be able to do that. I know I risk sounding very arrogant but don't send someone into space just for the sake of doing it. Pick someone with high qaulifications and do something useful. It's really a waste of money and an unnecessary risk otherwise.

    • surely sending any human into space is to some extent done for the sake of it at a level of unncessary expense and risk? Speaking of fitness, there is a side issue here, the Malaysian climate can be very oppressive; hot and very, very humid. It doesn't give any details, but if they picked the "wrong" day for this then that time would be more impressive than you think in view of the conditions.
      • They must be able to think of a better experiment than that. Even having school children come up with one that's picked by a panel of judges is better since at least that stimulates interests in science in the next generation.

        You're probably right about the running issue.

      • Malaysia is hot and stinking humid, also it's summer there now which means it's even hotter. For those who have never looked on the map Malaysia is right on just north of equator, with it's most southern point just touching it.

        Being in Singapore which is right next to Malaysia, I can tell you that walking there for 5 minutes is a big effort. Try running for 5 minutes in a sauna, then you might get an idea what it's like. And I'm used to hot weather as well, since I've grew up in sunny and most of the time h
    • Someone who's healthy isn't necessarily good at running. 2.2 miles in 20 minutes is a pretty fast pace, it takes me that long to go about 1 mile, and I don't consider myself unfit.

      Bear in mind they're looking for astronauts, who need to be pretty fit, if only 200 in 900 can do it then obviously your definition of 'reasonably healthy' must mean marathon runners.

      • Re:Seriously... (Score:1, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Are you fucking kidding me? A 20 minute mile? You are NOT fit. That is very nearly the length of time it should take to WALK a mile. An average, reasonably healthy person should be able to run a mile in under 10 minutes. I'd suspect a majority of 18-25 year old men can run a mile in 8 minutes.
        • Well, I do at least an hour's exercise a day, and have done for years, and I struggle to run a mile in 15 minutes. I think it's more to do with technique than fitness, or bone structure.
          • Er... A 15 minute mile is something like six feet a second. That's a brisk walk. I just pulled out the tape-measure in my flat and measured out 15 feet. I walked back and forth along it ten times, it took me all of 36 seconds. That's about 4 feet per second, and that included the time to turn around at each end of the "lap".

            If you "struggle" on a 15 minute mile despite an hour long exercise session daily I'm forced to ask what the nature of your disability is.

      • 1 mile in 20 minutes is 3 mph. I can walk faster than that, and keep it up for much longer than a mile (on flat ground), and I don't consider myself fit.

      • "Someone who's healthy isn't necessarily good at running. 2.2 miles in 20 minutes is a pretty fast pace, it takes me that long to go about 1 mile, and I don't consider myself unfit.
        "

        You wouldn't qualify for a middle school track team.

        Never mind the *team*, you'd probably be disciplined for blowing off "jogging" in PE.

        Slow, casual jogging is about 8 km/h
        On the other hand, the fastest sprinters in the world have never reached 40 km/h.

        If someone is supposed to be flying a jet plane, let alone a spacecraft, I'd
        • You wouldn't qualify for a middle school track team.

          Well, there you're talking about people who regularly do running. 99% of people don't run at all, they've no need to. I'd expect someone who ran several miles every day to be able to do a 10-minute mile, but not most people.

          A mile's a pretty long way to go. If you look down a straight road and see something a mile away, then you realise how far away it really is. There's no way you could get from one end to the other in 10 minutes. That's absolutely imposs

          • Depending upon the conditions a 10 minute mile may or may not be challenging for an average athlete. If this was held on an extremly hot or humid day, the chances are that the runner would tire much faster than normal. However, under fairly good conditions, I have seen people run a 4-5 minute mile, although they could not retain such a fast pace for more than a mile to a mile and half.

            Of course I sit at computer for the majority of the day, so I would not be one to judge this standard by (:P).

          • "There's no way you could get from one end to the other in 10 minutes. That's absolutely impossible."

            It's a reasonable starting point for a daily jog. Millions of people do this, or more strenuous things, as a warmup. It is so far from impossible, you must be joking.
            • Well, I live a more physical life than normal, I work a physical job and go everywhere on my bike, and I can't run a 10 minute mile, so what the hell's up? Where are all these millions of exercise freaks?
              • > I can't run a 10 minute mile

                Are you sure? I agree that 6 mph is past the threshold between a "brisk jog" and a "hard run",
                but I still say it's not an uncommon pace for the average casual enthusiast.
        • I think you may have converted units wrongly. 20 minutes per mile is an easy walking pace, on flat ground. Everybody who is not disabled or injured can do that, without any training. Of course without training you will not be able to walk for many hours at this pace, but it is not hard.

          10 minutes per mile = less than 10 kilometers per hour. This is more than 6 minutes per kilometer. A reasonably fit person can hold this pace for half an hour when rested before. A regular runner can hold this pace for many h
    • I've always wondered about the fitness requirement. You can understand that you want someone who is medically fit for a several reasons a) that they don't drop (or float) dead, b) they weigh less, c) they may consume oxygen more efficiently. But I don't really understand how some artificial artifice such as running so many miles in so many minutes necessarily qualifies or disqualifies someone on that basis.

      After all, I'm pretty sure that any horse jockey qualifies quite easily but that doesn't mean they're

      • Being physically fit is but one requirement. And a necessary one. Spaceflight is NOT akin to sitting in your lazyboy, looking out the window. Serious G forces and vibration on takeoff and reentry, the whole weightless thing in the middle, ability to handle different atmosphere environments. And the ability to keep functioning while under all that stress.

        That's one of the main reasons NASA chose military test pilots for the initial cadre of astronauts. They already had experience in all those regimes.

        A horse

      • Space launches often subject passengers to forces of 3-5 gravities for many minutes at a time. This places a significant stress on the cardiovascular system. Being able to meet certain running time/distance markers indicates a certain cardiovascular fitness level. If you don't have a large man-rated centrifuge, it's as good a way as any (and better than most) to make sure an astronaut isn't going to have a heart attack 2 minutes into the launch.
      • The fitness requirement is there for a simple reason:

        3-5gs over several minutes during the launch of the rocket. With NO possibility to stop until orbit. Do or die...
        Somebody who isnt in trained could really die during the trip, because of simple respitory distress /broken rips puncturing stuff/ ect.

        • How does running so far in so many minutes indicate whether you're going to withstand the forces encountered during liftoff? If the answer is, "it doesn't", then why bother at all? They could just be stuck in a centrifuge and be done with it.
    • It appears to me the single most stupid research line in the whole space exploration thing.

      And, since the mission involves essentialy eating, perhaps only 200 candidates weight less than 100 Kg (too lazy to convert)
      • 100Kg = 220 lbs.

        If you're under 6" and over 220lbs, you're either well bulked up with muscle or you think you are buff but look like Cartman. Either way, losing a few pounds won't kill you. No dehydrating yourself before the weigh in, either.

        Since they probably pay per pound, an upper limit is not unreasonable.
    • Insert "[1F13] Deep Space Homer" refrence... HERE [snpp.com]!

    • No kidding... Shouldn't it be more like... uh.. send the most qualified?... You know... as opposed to... "let's vote to see who deserves to go the most?"...

      *sigh*
    • "The national space agency has already announced plans for a research programme to send the country's favourite foods into orbit and the selection process to find the Malaysian who will taste them in zero gravity is already well advanced."

      The inexperienced "winner" may be so space-sick that even the thought of food will make them blow floating chunks on national TV. Children may get their first lesson in microgravity.
           
    • I suppose the list of people who can do both that and pass their intelligence reviews is probably a lot shorter, but I agree, that sounds fairly simple. I wish it were that easy to get an astronaut's slot in NASA. You essentially have to have some sort of flight experience, and your chances are still pretty slim if you don't have a PhD or experience in military aviation.
    • I am Malaysian and not exactly too proud of this myself. It's a bit ridiculous to have those kind of criteria for the candidates.

      Heh.

  • A stroke of genius... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by JediLow ( 831100 )
    "If the contest proves popular and the government charges for the votes, it may even be able to cover the cost of its space programme." How do you fund your space program? Create a competition... its actually a fairly ingenious idea, minus the fact that its laughable of course...

  • Top of the Ticket (Score:3)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:16PM (#13590051) Homepage Journal
    I vote for their Prime Minister. But not his spacesuit.

  • Survivor: Malaysia (Score:5, Funny)

    by craXORjack ( 726120 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:18PM (#13590064)
    They should send up seven people but the re-entry capsule can only hold one.

  • How about a better qualification test? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I would've thought a medical test and some other kind of intelligence test would be better than voting, would'nt it?
    • If you had RFTA (wait this is /., nevermind),
      the voting comes from a shortlist of a few candidates, much like how Fox/American Idle choose a handful of decent candidates (as well as some pathetic morons for amusemnet) from the thousands that apply, so will the Malaysian space program will choose a few qualified candidates and the people will vote on them.

      And of course in the great tradition of misleading, or at least sensationalized headlines, the article only says 'the Malaysian space boses will factor the
  • The Malaysia space agency.... http://www.baksa.gov.my/ [baksa.gov.my]
  • Worldwide Astronaut! Coming to a Fox station near you!

    But seriously, ... no, I have nothing serious.

    • But seriously, what's so wrong with this idea? I would watch a reality show based in a space camp somewhere (and that's me, no TV viewing for the last five years except for a few hours in hotel rooms when the bookstores were closed).

      Personally I'd like to see a space-lottery run in America. Grand prize could be a seat on a launch vehicle and some time in orbit with the real crew. Runner up prizes could be a week at space camp in houston or florida, hats, jackets, etc.

  • If slashdot picked the next astronaut (Score:5, Funny)

    by antifoidulus ( 807088 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @12:46PM (#13590164) Homepage Journal
    The goatse man would be the next to be launched into space...

  • At the very least... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by andreyw ( 798182 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @01:00PM (#13590210) Homepage
    If the Malaysian government is considering this, then Malaysians must have been expressing an interest in a space program for some time now. I can see what would happen if NASA did it - nothing because no one really cares. :-(

    A: "Want to vote for the next cosmonaut?"
    B: "No, Kanye is whining in the mic how the gubbemint hates black people..."

    Weren't we supposed to be already colonizing Mars?
  • I wonder if there will be a CowboyNeal option.

  • Oh My GOD!!!! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Viceice ( 462967 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @02:14PM (#13590622)
    Ok. I am now officially embressed to be a Malaysian. Seriously though, this isn't news at all. This is simply a ticket into space our goverment got from the Russians who offered it as a sweetener to close a deal on a fleet of MiG fighters.

    I Seriously wish it was a one way ticket and they'd send our esteemed Defence Minister, who is also our useless ass of a Deputy Prime Minister.

    PLEASE I BEG ALL OF YOU! MOVE ALONG! THERES NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!!!!

    • I Seriously wish it was a one way ticket and they'd send our esteemed Defence Minister, who is also our useless ass of a Deputy Prime Minister.

      Every country has its own Rumsfield it seems.

      By the way, can't one get in trouble in Malaysia for criticizing government officials? Singapore is like that, but I don't know how much of their approach has spilled over to their neighbors.
               
      • Sure you can. But most malaysian citizens aren't really that worried about that, because the Malaysia Gov isn't as efficient or ruthless as Singapore's so the Malaysian gov may lose track or lose the will or get distracted by sillier stuff (like this silliness for instance) after a while.

        Whereas the S'pore Government can probably keep track of their entire population down to their fingerprints and DNA... :)

        You may be surprised to know that the Malaysian Gov actually does listen to citizen complaints and thu
    • Seriously though, this isn't news at all. This is simply a ticket into space our goverment got from the Russians who offered it as a sweetener to close a deal on a fleet of MiG fighters.

      No it's not MiG fighters.. its a fleet of Su-30Mk.
      • No it's not MiG fighters.. its a fleet of Su-30Mk.

        Actually, you're both right. The original deal was with the MiG fighters back in 1994! Now the Su-30 deal is a extension.

  • How can you have voting if CowboyNeal is not on the list???
  • In malysia the people vote for who goes into space.

    In the powerhouses of democracy such as the US, UK, etc. people are TOLD by a government agency who's going into space.

    Funny when you think about it.

  • Malaysia Could Be Hot Spot for Space Travel (Score:3, Informative)

    by FleaPlus ( 6935 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @02:32PM (#13590755) Journal
    From this page [eisenhowerinstitute.org]:

    Malaysia Could Be Hot Spot for Space Travel

    Malaysia, according to a leading space authority, could be the next new focal point for space travel. Malaysia's central location makes it an attractive option for private commercial space travel companies and those interested in space exploration business, such as the Zero G Corporation [nogravity.com] and the Florida Space Authority. A 35-member Florida business delegation is scheduled to take a trip to Malaysia near the end of the month in order to look into investment and business possibilities.

    Also, from an article titled Malaysia to launch five third-generation satellites [yahoo.com]:

    KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia said it would launch five third-generation satellites from a site in the United States as part of its ambitious plan to become a developed country in 2020 and to meet defence needs. ...

    "We are moving to become an advanced economy and communications is important to meet our economic needs. Now we are relying on other people's satellites. For security needs for instance, can we completely rely on other people's satellites?" ...

    The third-generation satellites offer higher-resolution images. They provide specific and timely data for mapping departments in agricultural countries and geographical information for companies located near the equatorial belt.

    "This (the satellites) is for the strategic needs of the country. For our economic and defence needs of our country, we must have our own capacity in space," Jamaluddin added.

    So, I guess even if Malaysia doesn't have any launchers themselves yet, they seem to have satellite construction down.
  • Because I can think of a lot of people I'd like to launch into space.

  • Like the movie Contact... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by vistic ( 556838 ) on Sunday September 18, 2005 @07:59PM (#13592565)
    They will pick someone very likeable and intelligent, but then the person will be asked if they are Muslim or not (Malaysia is full of Muslims). The candidate will say it shouldn't matter. And her chances of going into space will be dashed to bits.
  • AFundi Mawi!!
    AFundi Mawi!!
    AFundi Mawi!!

    One way trip!!

    ...

    If you're not in Malaysia, you don't get it ::shrug::
  • I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS for certain hot topics in the US. imagine if it was set up like this, every year people vote freely online for which items should be put to public PAY elections. so lets say the top 52 items go to public online pay elections which occur weekly. for that topic of suggestion for new law, all of the info will be provided online with the best debaters on each side given 5 minutes to explain their case. the videos are free. as much information that is possible will be provided... th

  • Waste of time and money (Score:2, Informative)

    by lcllam ( 714572 )
    Since when does popularity determine suitability for such a mission? Granted, there have been exceptions but I can't recall any *cough*dubyah*cough*

    This is a ridiculous waste of public money to send what will effectively be a pretty boy into space on a tourist visa. In line with such great achievements as sending a Proton (our locally manufactured car) to the north pole, where rumor has it, it failed to start because um... it was plenty COLD.

    Malaysia definitely needs to spend less on image and more on s

  • "Members of the public will be able to choose the country's first astronaut from a shortlist and vote by text message, said Jamaluddin Jarjis."

    from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4244214.st m [bbc.co.uk]
    As it stands in Malaysia, there is already

    1. Too many people wasting money on text messages(re: Idols, etc.)
    2. too many public projects which cost $millions/billions upwards with no real purpose other than for fame.
    3. too many other problems to solve. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia [wikipedia.org]

    Why add ano

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