science

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor rather than just read about it. In short: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha (born 27 July 1972) is a Malaysian doctor. He launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on 10 October 2007.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha (born 27 July 1972) is a Malaysian doctor. He launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on 10 October 2007. Sheikh Muszaphar flew under an agreement with Russia through the Angkasawan program, and returned to Earth on 21 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-10 with the Expedition 15 crew members, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov.

Family background Shukor was born on 27 July 1972 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Sheikh Mustapha bin Abdul Shukor and Zuraidah Sheikh Ahmad. His parents are Malays with distant Egyptian roots. Muszaphar's father Mustapha was a businessman.

Education He attended high school at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA in Muar. He then earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from Kasturba Medical College, an affiliated college of Manipal University, in Manipal, India.

Career Sheikh Muszaphar previously worked as an orthopaedic medical officer (MO) but never completed his specialisation. at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In 1998, Sheikh Muszaphar worked at Hospital Seremban, followed by a move to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital in 1999, and was on staff at Hospital Selayang from 2000 through 2001. Sheikh Muszaphar is also a part-time model.

Angkasawan program

Sheikh Muszaphar and three other finalists were selected at the beginning of 2006 for the Malaysian Angkasawan spaceflight program. The program arose after Russia agreed to transport one Malaysian to the ISS as part of a multi-billion purchase of 18 Russian Sukhoi Su-30 MKM fighter jets by Malaysia. After completing initial training at Star City in Russia, Sheikh Muszaphar and Faiz Khaleed were selected to undergo an 18-month training program in Russia, at the end of which Sheikh Muszaphar was chosen as the prime crew member, while Faiz Khaleed served as back-up. Following the final medical tests and training examinations, on 17 September, it was announced that Sheikh Muszaphar would be flying on the Soyuz TMA-11 mission. During a NASA news conference with the Expedition 16 crew on 23 July 2007, and news conferences following his selection, Sheikh Muszaphar said he hoped to be able to take various live cell cultures to study during his flight.

Terminology Flying as a guest of the Russian government, Sheikh Muszaphar's role aboard Soyuz and the ISS is referred to as a spaceflight participant in English-language Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA documents and press briefings. Speaking to Malaysian media outlets, Alexander Karchava, the Russian ambassador to Malaysia, stated that Sheikh Muszaphar is a "fully-fledged cosmonaut". In an interview with the Malaysian Star newspaper, Robert Gibson, a retired NASA astronaut, shared his opinion that Sheikh Muszaphar is fully qualified as an astronaut, and as such, he should be called one. Gibson also said he regarded Sheikh Muszaphar as a peer.

Spaceflight

Soyuz TMA-11 carrying Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson and Sheikh Muszaphar successfully launched at 13:22 UTC, Wednesday, 10 October 2007. After 10 days in space, Sheikh Muszaphar boarded Soyuz TMA-10 for his return. TMA-10 undocked from the ISS at 07:14 UTC on 21 October, and deorbit occurred at 09:47. During atmospheric re-entry, the spacecraft transitioned to a ballistic reentry, resulting in it landing west of Arkalyk, approximately 340 km (210 mi) northwest of the intended Kazakhstan landing site. The trajectory was reported by the crew as soon as they came out of the communications blackout caused by plasma surrounding the spacecraft. A ballistic trajectory is a backup re-entry mode that takes over if something fails during normal re-entry. A Commission of Inquiry determined that the ballistic re-entry was caused by damage to a cable in the spacecraft's control panel, which connected the control panel with the Soyuz descent equipment. Landing occurred at 10:36 GMT, the duration of his flight is 10d 20h 14m.

Space experiments Sheikh Muszaphar performed experiments on board the International Space Station relating to the characteristics and growth of liver cancer and leukaemia cells, the crystallisation of various proteins and microbes in space.

Spaceflight and religion Since Sheikh Muszaphar is a Muslim, and as his time in space coincided with the last part of Ramadan, the Islamic National Fatwa Council drew up the first comprehensive guidebook for Muslims in space. The 18-page guidebook is titled "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites (Ibadah) at the International Space Station", and details issues such as how to pray in a low-gravity environment, how to locate Mecca from the ISS, how to determine prayer times, and issues surrounding fasting. The orbit of the ISS results in one day/night cycle every 90 minutes, so the issues of fasting during Ramadan are also addressed. Sheikh Muszaphar celebrated Eid ul-Fitr aboard the station, and packed some satay and cookies to hand out to the rest of the crew on 13 October 2007 to mark the end of Ramadan.

Legacy In honour of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor being the first Malaysian sent into space, the 2008 ASEAN University Games organising committee had chosen an astronaut as the games mascot, which is named A1 Angkasawan.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia Negeri Sembilan Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan (DSNS) - Dato' (2008)

See also Timeline of space travel by nationality List of Muslim astronauts Manipal University alumni

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Malaysia's first astronaut to do what no one in space has done before Interview with Sheikh Muszaphar from the ISS Nils Fischer "Islamic religious practice in outer space." ISIM review (2008) 22: 39.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

In research: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1972 births, Living people, MARA Junior Science College alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in simple terms?

Why does Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.