Happy Belated Birthday, Dr Sheikh!

Sorry guys, I was a bit confused about his birthday. One site said it was today and one site said it was yesterday.. So anyway, Happy Birthday to you, Dr Sheikh. May your space journey continue to inspire the younger generations.

Regards,
Fai

Next up: Seasons in the Sun poem

Summer break at last!

After the long weeks of listening to the teacher talking, history classes and stuff like that (which I love), it's SUMMER BREAK! A one month long holiday for us here in an International School. Summer for me is mostly getting ready for my first Middle School grade in September. Secondary school, really.. Year 7 really doesn't worry me a lot. But anyway, enough about Year 7. Summer's always occupied with travelling and space studies. :)

This year, I was thinking " If Dr Sheikh says that he can do it, why can't anyone else?" After all, I can understand that going into space is not easy, but it's worth the try anyway. I made a vow to myself that I would try harder in school to be one of the top students. Well, that was what really happened. Despite the terrible SATS (UPSR, if you please), Year 6 was very smooth going. So next year, I'll try much harder to be a top student.

Anyway, enough about that. On with my Summer "travelling" plan. I'm going to Egypt these holidays, for a week. Cruising down the Nile isn't a very good idea during the Summer. What's more, I'll be roasted like beef under the burning grill of the sun.

Next up: Happy Birthday Dr Sheikh!

~Planetarium Visit!~

I finally get my wish to go to the Planetarium, and finding that the "Anti Gravity" chamber has given me a headache, but actually gives me a better idea of what it feels like being in microgravity. It wasn't the real thing yet, but it was certainly hard to stand. I felt like I could kiss someone by accident if I wasn't careful. Fortunately, I didn't kiss anyone, but I was mostly crashing into the wall on the left (simply because the room was titled to the left).

The Space Ball was under construction, so we couldn't try it out. I still got to try the space "loo" in the International Space Station exhibit. It was quite scary as it was sucking you down. That wasn't so bad. The REALLY bad thing was that there were kindergarten kids there, and they were a noise machine. We were watching a documentary on Space Threats, but I couldn't hear much, as they were going "WHOA" at every single sight of Earth and the Planets. For example,
"If a meteor that is larger than 1km across crashes into Earth and lands in an ocean/sea, it will cause a massive tsunami, even larger than the one in 2004." The reaction of the kids is simple: "WHOA!!"

Still, it was a very good trip. It would've been better if we didn't circle half round KL before finding Jalan Perdana.

Till next time,
Faizah

Nuraina A Samad's 3540 Jalan Sudin: Al Fatihah For Sheikh Mustafa Shukor

Nuraina A Samad's 3540 Jalan Sudin: Al Fatihah For Sheikh Mustafa Shukor

A Little Insight Of My Past Dream

Before actually thinking about becoming an astronaut, I used to have this dream of becoming a famous musician (pianist, to be more specific). That was when the realisation came that Music was just not my cup of tea. Somehow, I needed more. I wanted to be more adventurous. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to become an astronaut. It was quite a challenging task, as I got the inspiration by none other than Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. Yes, playing the piano makes it a lot harder to divide time (for an 11 year old) because I've SATS in 2 weeks.

Gotta go study for SATS now!



Till next time,
Ya Tebya Lublu.

Faizah

How Do Spacesuits Work?

Earlier today, I was lying down on my bed trying to make a list in my head of topics I have not yet covered about Earth and Space. Thinking about space, I was asking myself "How do spacesuits work?". That question kept ringing in my mind fo about a minute, before I fell asleep. Now that I'm wide awake (hopefully, completely), I decided that I wanted to find the answer to that very question. It wasn't a very easy task. It took me about half an hour to find the answer.

Spacesuits are designed to:

• Have a pressurized atmosphere
• Give you oxygen
• Remove Carbon Dioxide
• Allow you to communicate with other people (including people on Earth/astronauts)
• Allows flexible body movement
• Allows clear vision of what's going on.

My next research: How Do Astronauts Eat In Space?

Photos- Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC)

I went to the photo taking spot near the Twin towers on Saturday. Mom was practically snapping pictures mad.

Mini astronaut training in the pool

Yesterday was quite a good chance for me to start doing the "mini" zero gravity training in the water. I went into the Jacuzzi at the clubhouse and started doing random flips all over the place. After that, went to the deep end and started pushing myself up and down. Was quite painful for a start, but I got used to it and realised it was a lot of fun, especially with my sister.

Yeah, space studies are going smoothly right now.. Been looking at spacesuits for a week.

Cya!

Eagle Ranch Trip next week

Hey all! I'm back again. Sorry for not posting for the last couple of days. I've been extremely busy doing some space research and all that. I've been learning quite a fair bit after doing the research, and it definately helped in Astronomy. I'll be linking more space websites to my website soon.

Anyway, I won't be posting on the blog on the 5th- 7th May. I will be on a school camp to Eagle Ranch, Port Dickson. This will be my opportunity to get started on some mini-space training, since there will be things like Flying Fox and Go-Karting. Also, the Compass March and Night Walk helps a lot. I may be a 6th Grader, but I can definately take some small "Space Training On Earth".

See you!

New Site

Hey all,
I decided to create myself a website. It's called futureastronaut.multiply.com. Even though I have created a website, I will still be posting on this blog, so keep checking back for the latest space study updates.

Faizah

Monday's back again, and it's time for a new start!

Being back on Monday is just great. Although I only have 3 days of school this week, it will still be full of preparation for my exams. Unfortunately, there won't be any astronomy as part of the exams; which is pretty sad. Still, I guess I should be thankful for what I have.

Exams coming soon- still want to study about space!

I love studying about space. It is my favourite hobby. I will never give it up, even when I become an astronaut. I never want to stop learning, and I never want to give up learning. From watching Dr Sheikh's launch and space experience, to the tough challenges of becoming an astronaut myself. But now, one of the biggest distruptions to my space studies strikes. My SATS exams are coming in exactly 5 weeks time. Come to think of it, I wish there was Astronomy in it.

Going to National Planetarium- I hope.

Hi everyone,
The title of this post already mentions it. I am planning to visit the National Planetarium (Planetarium Negara) with my dad. The thing is, I don't know if I can really go, as my cousins are here from Singapore and they're getting most of the so-called VIP spots. Whenever they want to go somewhere, they'll get it for sure. Then the rest of the family, including me has to follow them around like bodyguards. But that doesn't interupt my studying about space. Well, at least not completely.

There are a few reasons that I want to visit the Planetarium. Firstly, I want to feel what it's like floating in zero gravity. Secondly, and it's stated in the title, I want to become an astronaut when I grow up. Finally, the 4th Graders have been there and experienced the fun. Why not a 6th Grader?

Anyway, I will still post on this blog when I find the time to. Got exams up soon.

Faizah

Fantastic Friday!

Hey everyone,

I'm back again. Just going to do a small write up on my usual study about space. As you know, my main focuses are on the International Space Station and the planets. There's much more to space than that, believe it or not! I am aiming to complete the rest of my studies about space soon. Thanks to Dr Sheikh and all the astronauts around the world.

See you!
Faizah

Terrific Thursday!

Hi everyone,
I'm back again with my next write up. As usual, I've been bombarding myself studying about space. This time, I have been researching about the International Space Station. I haven't written my essay yet, but I'll just post what I found.. I use Wikipedia, but if anyone has any other encyclopedias that I don't know of, just post them in the comments. I'm only going to post part of it, so.... here goes:


The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in space. The on-orbit assembly of ISS began in 1998. The space station is in a low Earth orbit and can be seen from Earth with the naked eye: it has an altitude of approximately 350 km (217 mi)[1] above the surface of the Earth, and travels at an average speed of 27,700 km (17,210 statute miles) per hour, completing 15.77 orbits per day.
The ISS is a joint project among the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (RKA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and eleven European countries (ESA).[4] The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB, Brazil) participates through a separate contract with NASA. The Italian Space Agency similarly has separate contracts for various activities not done in the framework of ESA's ISS works (where Italy also fully participates). China has reportedly expressed interest in the project,[5] especially if it is able to work with the RKA,[6] though the Chinese are currently not involved.[5]

That's only part of what I read, but if you want to read the full thing, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station

Chillin' Out in an educational way.

After a long day at school, a pathetic bus ride home and a hectic piano lesson, I finally get to chill out. Today, I decided to "chill out" in an educational way by doing the thing that I love to do- study about space. I know that most of you out there would think that studying is a completely rubbish way to relax. It's not really rubbish, as long as you don't wish you were doing something else.

I didn't find it rubbish. I enjoyed it. I learnt more about space, understood more about the 9G load that presses on your chest when you re-enter earth's atmosphere and loads more.

Thank you, Dr Sheikh for inspiring me.

Pictures with the Angkasawan

Hello!

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog.

I've just started this blog out, so don't expect it to be "creme de la creme" at first. As stated in the title of my blog, I am a young astronaut in the making. I haven't been for any training stuff yet, nor have I been into space. But I am quite a dab hand at Astronomy. Before I go into too much detail, let me tell you how I developed an interest in space studies and astronauts.

It was when Malaysia's first angkasawan, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie was launched off into space on October 10th 2007. He had inspired hundreds of young Malaysians to believe in themselves, and dream big. Since then, I started studying about space. It was quite a surprising moment, for I never used to like things that were really difficult to do. But the success of the angkasawan has shaped my feelings about complicated things.

Learning about space is a very interesting thing to do. I hope that my dream will come true.

Till then,
Faizah