Sunday, October 14, 2007

First Woman Station Commander Arrives for Historic Spaceflight



WASHINGTON - NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson arrived at the International Space Station Friday to begin her tenure as the first woman to command a station mission.

Whitson, Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko and Malaysian Spaceflight Participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor docked their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft to the station at 10:50 a.m. EDT. The crew launched on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Whitson officially will become the station commander after a ceremony Friday, Oct. 19, at approximately 3:15 p.m. EDT. This change of command event will mark the formal handover of the station to Whitson and Malenchenko, just days before the Expedition 15 crew members and Shukor depart.

"I think it's special that I get the opportunity to play that role," Whitson said when asked about being the first woman station commander. "But I think it's also special to have an opportunity to demonstrate how many other women also work at NASA."

Another female astronaut, space shuttle Discovery Commander Pam Melroy, will reach another milestone in late October when she and her crew arrive at the station. It will mark the first time two women have led space missions at the same time.

To familiarize themselves with station systems and procedures, Expedition 16's Whitson and Malenchenko will conduct more than a week of handover activities with Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov and Expedition 15 and 16 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson. Whitson and two other crew members will perform three spacewalks during Expedition 16 to prepare the station for the activation of the Harmony node. The Expedition 16 spacewalks also will prepare for the relocations of Harmony and Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, a docking port.

This is Whitson's second six-month rotation aboard the orbiting complex. She previously served as a flight engineer on Expedition 5 in 2002, when she became NASA's first station science officer, conducting 21 investigations in human and life sciences. During that mission, she also used the station's robotic arm to help add two truss segments to the station's backbone and performed a spacewalk to install debris shielding.

Whitson was born and raised in Iowa, where at an early age she was inspired by the men who walked on the moon. "I thought 'what a cool job!"

She decided she wanted to fly in space after graduating from high school, which was the same year they picked the first set of female astronauts. Whitson knew she wanted to work for NASA, if not as an astronaut, then as a scientist.

Whitson received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981 and a doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University in 1985. From 1989 to 1993, Whitson worked as a research biochemist in the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. For the next several years, she held a number of senior positions within NASA until her selection as an astronaut in 1996.

When Whitson returns home in April 2008, she will hold yet another distinction, that of having spent more time in space than any other woman.

For Whitson's biographical information, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios


For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/oct/HQ_07226_ISS_Docking.html

SPACE STATION CREW


The Expedition 16 crew members pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center. From the left (front row) are Russia's Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer and Soyuz commander; astronaut Peggy Whitson, commander; and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. From the left (back row) are European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Léopold Eyharts, astronaut Garrett Reisman and astronaut Dan Tani, all flight engineers.


Expedition 16 launched to the International Space Station on October 10, 2007.

Commander Peggy A. Whitson
Whitson is the commander for Expedition 16. This is her second tour of duty aboard the station. She also was a flight engineer and science officer for Expedition 5 in 2002. Whitson also worked underwater as a NEEMO 5 crew member in 2003.

Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko
Expedition 16 is Malenchenko's second tour of duty aboard the station. He also served as commander of Expedition 7. Malenchenko was a mission specialist for STS-106 in 2000 and commanded Mir 16 in 1996.

Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani
Tani will fly to the station aboard space shuttle Discovery on STS-120 and join Expedition 16 as a flight engineer. He will return home aboard space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-122.

Flight Engineer Léopold Eyharts
Eyharts, a European Space Agency astronaut from France, will join Expedition 16 as a flight engineer after launching to the station aboard space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-122. He also visited the Mir Space Station for three weeks in February 1998.

Flight Engineer Garrett E. Reisman
Reisman will fly to the station aboard space shuttle Endeavour on STS-123 and join Expedition 16 as a flight engineer. He will also stay aboard the station to join Expedition 17. In 2003 Reisman worked underwater as a crew member for NEEMO 5.

Spaceflight Participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will launch with Expedition 16 and land with Expedition 15.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/index.html

Soyuz TMA-11 dan ISS

MOSCOW 12 Okt. – Pesawat Soyuz TMA-11 yang membawa angkasawan pertama negara, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor dan dua krew lain selamat bercantum dengan Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa (ISS) malam ini pada jarak 350 kilometer dari Bumi di ruang angkasa rantau Asia Tengah. (Utusan Online)

A Russian capsule carrying a new crew for the International Space Station (ISS) and Malaysia's first astronaut has slipped into a berthing port at the orbital outpost as the spaceships sailed 357 kilometres above Earth.

The Soyuz spacecraft, which blasted off on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, reached the station at 10:50am EDT.

About 90 minutes later, hatches between the two vessels opened and NASA's Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, an orthopedic surgeon and part-time model from Malaysia, floated aboard.

Mr Shukor's flight is part of a commercial deal Russia cut to sell aircraft to Malaysia. He will return to Earth on October 21 with outgoing station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov. (http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/13/2058712.htm?section=justin)

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Syawal Menjelma

Selamat Hari Raya Kepada semua

Maaf dipohon jika ada salah dan silap.

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر
la ilaha illa Allah لا إله إلا الله
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar الله أكبر الله أكبر
wa li-illahi al-hamd ولله الحمد

God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest
There is no deity but God
God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest
and to God goes all praise

Perkembangan kesihatan

Ramai yang berminat nak tahu tentang kesihatan aku.

Mungkin betul-betul prihatin..

mungkin saja-saja nak tanya...

mungkin kerana lama sangat aku bercuti...

Sebenarnya kesihatan aku bertambah baik walaupun belum pulih 100%.

Selepas menjalani beberapa sessi fisioterapi dan melalui perubatan alternatif, tangan aku menunjukkan perubahan positif.

Kalau semasa simen dibuka pada 6 Ogos lalu, tangan aku langsung tak boleh digerak atau disentuh.

Selepas diurut 3 hari berturut-turut di KB, tangan aku dah boleh angkat sikit.

Masa sessi Fisioterapi yang pertama tangan aku (aku maksukkan pergelangan tangan ) boleh gerak 10% ke bawah dan 25% ke atas. Kekuatan genggaman hanya 4 kg, berbanding tangan kiri 40 kg!

Selepas berurut di Keningau dengan Pak Mat pada 19 Ogos, tangan aku dah boleh diangkat dan boleh menyuap makanan dengan tangan kanan.

Dalam sessi fisioterapi kedua pada 23 Ogos, ada sedikit perubahan. 25% ke bawah dan 40% ke atas... Kekuatan gengaman naik jadi 12 kg.

Aku pergi sekali lagi berurut di Keningau pada 15 September. Aku minta urut bahu dan lutut sekali. Rupanya bahu, siku dan lutut aku sakit sebab impak dari accident tempohari.

Semasa sessi fifioterapi kali ke 3 pada 2 Oktober, menunjukkan perkembangan baik. 40% ke bawah dan 55 ke atas. Bacaan kekuatan genggamanpun meningkat ke 18 kg. Tangan kiri 42kg.

Sekarang, aku masih berusaha untuk membolehkan tangan aku berfungsi seperti sediakala.

Cuma tengkuk aku masih rasa sakit bile mahu pusing ke kiri atau ke kanan.

Bila mood hilang

Semenjak Accident tempohari, mood aku untuk menulis makin berkurang.

Entahlah mengapa..

Ada kawan-kawan yang menjenguk ke blog aku bertanya:

"Mengapa lama tak updated blog?"

"Mengapa lama tak menulis?"

Entahlah...

Aku pun tak tahu mengapa...

Mungkin kerana fikiran aku tertanggu sedikit...

atau sebab lain...

Harap-haraplah, selepas sebulan berpuasa, memberi kekuatan kepada aku untuk meneruskan sisa-sisa hidup.