Blast-Off

KLIA to the Lion City again.

“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” [21:30]

“Houston, we have a problem.”

Nope, we are not going to hear that this time. Firstly, the launching pad is not in Houston but in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. 

Secondly, God Willing, everything will be alright.

First things first. 

Our angkasawan Dr Sheikh (with Dr Faiz as backup) could not be a more ideal candidate from Malaysia. Even without his credentials, his looks and smiles alone will melt the hearts of the extra-terrestrial beings. 

The Holy Quran puts so much emphasis in the secrets of the heavens and the earth. The sky, the stars, the groups of stars, the formation of stars, the nature of atmosphere, the Big Bang theory etc. and etc.

At 360km above planet Earth, there will be no less than 16 times of sunrise and sunsets per day for the angkasawan at the ISS. I remembered while at 35,000 ft during the trans-continental flight, I’d flabbergasted to the fact that I could perform the solat with the miracle of GPS latitudes and longitudes. What if the earth is under you or on top of you?

Anyway, I always cherish and give full support to this Angkasawan Programme. 

Malaysia Boleh! 

Me too, an Aerospace Engineer from a 556-year-old University, if not because of something tragic (others might say something foolish ... I had a break-up with a girl) happened during my 3rd year, I'd already employed at GEC Marconi in the UK and will have direct dealings with the satellites and space vehicles. Anyway, I always believe that there’s always hikmah in all things that happened.

To Dr Sheikh (or Dr Faiz), keep those smiles. Please come back to Earth safely, instil the feeling of awe and inspiration of space travel to us in Malaysia.

p/s: 

the piece above is dedicated to a friend, who is much better than me in all aspects of life, even without him realising it, funny though, he’s with me all the way from Form 1 to Form 5, we’re in the same House, did some other things together, but somehow, we’re not that clique, anyway, this is for you bro Jinoh.