Pilot who cheated death among astronaut hopefuls

KUANTAN: Fighter pilot Mejar Fajim Juffa Mohd Mustafa Kamal looked death in the face when his aircraft developed engine problem during a routine exercise last year. 

But he kept his cool and ejected to safety as his MiG-29 fighter plummeted to earth and burst into flames. 

Mejar Fajim, 36, felt that he had been given a second chance to do something more with life and decided to make an attempt to go into space. 

Mejar Fajim: ‘I consider surviving the crash as a second chance in life’

Yesterday, he took the first small step towards realising his dream when he ran 3.5km in under 20 minutes during the first physical test here to select the country’s first astronaut. 

“I consider surviving the crash as a second chance in life. That’s what I was thinking about during my run,” he said. 

In November last year, Mejar Fajim, who is based at the Kuantan airbase, was piloting his fighter plane in a routine exercise when it developed engine trouble and lost power. He ejected to safety and was found 33 hours later. 

Mejar Fajim, who has three children, said RMAF pilots had to maintain demanding physical exercise routines. 

“We usually run about 5km every other day, so the run was somewhat of a breeze for me,” he added. 

Also successful was Singapore Airlines pilot Abdul Sannan Khan Arshad Ahmad, 36, who had dreamed of becoming an astronaut since he was a boy. 

“I didn’t tell my employers about my participation today (yesterday). I will ask them to release me if I managed to get through the final round,” said the Boeing 747 pilot. 

Despite battling jetlag, research engineer Ong Siang Pheng, 27, who flew in from Britain on Friday, also made it through the first round. 

“I applied for the run online after being told about it by friends who surf the Internet. I have even managed to get initial approval from my company to go for training if I’m able to get through the final round. 

“I just want to try my luck and see how far I can go,” said Ong, from Tanah Merah, Kelantan.  

Only 12 out of 31 participants made it through yesterday’s Astronaut Run. 

The others are marketing executive Ahmad Amiri Abu Bakar, 26; students Hozay Hafiz, 27, and Mohd Fairuz Md Jani, 24; consulting company director Khairil Anuar Abdul Majid, 40; assistant design engineer Mohamad Idzwan Kamaruzaman, 25; trainee engineer Mohamad Wajedee Mohamed Sohaimi, 25; pilot Lt-Kol Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan, 36; project manager Norazlan Shah Mahadi, 36; and research assistant Tan Boon Keat, 28.  

Similar runs will be held on Saturday in Subang, Kluang, Butterworth, Sabah and Sarawak.  

After being put through stringent medical, aero-physiological and psychological testing here, five to 10 people short-listed will be sent for more gruelling tests at the Yuri Gagarin Space Centre in Russia before the final two are selected.  

Only one Malaysian will be able to make it into space by 2007.  

Related Story:Destination moon by 2020 

Are you among the candidates shortlisted to become Malaysia's first astronaut? Tell us why you should be the one at [e-mail].