Hello to all
Since last post many things have happened. Of note was our involvement in the recent opening of the first stage of the Malaysian Space Science Center in Banting.
We had some exciting challenges to deal with and a very tight timeline to finish work on our areas of responsibility in relation to the opening.
The event itself took place on the 4th of October and was officiated by the Prime Minister and many government ministers.
Thankfully after many long days and nights working in preparation everything went according to plan. I have posted some pics of the event so you can see what went on. As you can see we had our giant Soyuz rocket model as the centerpiece for the opening.
On of our special tasks for the event was to make a gift for the PM. We designed and created a very unique display stand with a fragment of real meteorite suspended between. (See pic) There are a series of verses from the Holy Quran inscribed on one side with their english translations on the other. Apparently the PM liked it so much that he wants it on display in his own office. It has been a great privilege to be able to make this special gift for the countries leader.
Dr Nafisah the Space Center director has indicated that she would be happy to have groups of students come to the center and participate in activities. On the cards are live webconference sessions with NASA and building a radio telescope.
The center is the first stage of a much larger project that will see a major facility for the construction of satellites finished within the next few years.
I am hoping to run some activities during the coming Hari Raya/Deepavali Holidays and will update by email to all club members in the coming days.
All the best for now
Sam

Hello to all
It has been sometime since I have had the chance to update this site. September has been a very busy month with a large numbers of studens attending our special outreach programs at the National Planetarium and the TUDM Royal Airforce Mudeum at Sungai Besi. In addition i have been working on some special projects with the National Space Agency (Angkasa) That I will tell you more about here.
Our outreach workshops at the planetarium this month were designed to provide an insight into the history of space exploration and space flight. As part of the tour we organised we also took our participants to the IMAX theater where they watched the amazing 3D film Magnificent Desolation Walking on the Moon. The film provides a special overview of just what it took to get man to the moon. Students were thrilled by the amazing 3D effects and scenes from the film. Watching the film was almost like being on the moon with the Astronauts.
In addition I have been working on a special project for the first stage of the Malaysia Space Science Center near Banting. This amazing facility has been built with the future in mind. Already operational are the centers specialised communications antennas that send and receive data from satellites in orbit around earth. Also there is the newly finished satellite calibration facility that I was working in recently installing giant graphics panels (see pics).
Next month we will be putting a whole series of new programs together that will include live web conferencing with NASA engineers and hopefully a long awaited astronomy fild trip.
Check back from time to time to see whats happening...more to follow.
Bye for now
Sam

Hello to all
Finally I have had the chance to update the blogsite after what has been a very busy month.
Since returning from the USA there has been a great deal of activity that included meeting Her Royal Highness Queen Fauziah during the recent University of Science Malaysia's convocation festival (see photo).
It was an honor to be able to show her royal highness some of the activities we have been doing that also included an outline of the International Space Settlement Design Competition.
Her royal Highness was particularly impressed with a demonstration of 3D images of Mars that were demonstrated on my AMD Ferrari Laptop.
The month of August saw a great many Aerospace Workshops at both TUDM Sungai Besi and also a continuation of our successful Planetarium Imax Program featuring the awesome film commentated by Tom Hanks "Magnificent Desolation". These were amongst the first words spoken by Astronaut Edwin Buzz Aldrin as he set foot on the lunar surface soon after the world renown Neil Armstrong.
Since returning from the USA there has been a lot of activity at Aerospace Education Services. We are pleased to announce that we have taken on a new staff member. Mike has just graduated in electrical and electronics engineering and will be helping us to develop our robotics workshops amongst other things. Hope to show some of Mikes new work soon now.
In addition we are beginning to organize a special series of interactive live webcasts with the Johnson Space Center. It is my hope to conduct the webcasts with NASA engineers and astronauts as part of a schools education program nation wide. Students will have the opportunity to watch these live video feeds from places of interest at the Johnson Space Center. The events will be interactive so it will be possible to ask questions and participate directly in the presentations.
I have also posted some pics of the Sokol Falcon Space suit purchased by AES for the Agensi Angkasa Negara. Before the space suit was delivered to its new owners a couple of lucky club members had the chance to try it on and experience wha it is like to try the real thing. The Sokol suit is the standard space suit worn by all astronauts travelling to and from space on the Soyuz rocket. The suit is now on dispaly at the National Planetarium.

I have posted a few pics of some of our recent activities. Will try to update again soon.
Bye for now
Sam

Hello to all
Well now we are all home safely in Kuala Lumpur it is time to reflect on what happened during the past 10 days in the USA.
I think broadly speaking the trip was a huge success. The opportunity to experience working with other school students from the USA, Australia and India was in itself a great opportunity for the Malaysian team. This in conjunction with having the priveledge to meet and work with engineers and scientists from Boeing and NASA was really quite something.

One of the very interesting persons I met was Norman Chafee. Norman started working for NASA before the Apollo days and was involved in just about every major project NASA went through during the last 30+ years. Having now retired he devotes a considerable amout of time to student education programs. Working with Norman was an amazing experience. The day I first met him he bought one of the attitude thruster motors from the Apollo rocket program. In just a few short minutes we were thoroughly absorbed in conversation. Being with Norman is like being with an encyclopedia of Space Science. He is one of the true pioneers of space craft engineering and, despite his relatively humble beginnings as a petrochemical engineer, he worked in many different capacities during his time at NASA. He was even associated with robotics development for missions to Mars.
I believe Norman is a shining example of somebody who always looks beyond the horizon of any engineering challenge laid out before him. His versatility and remarkable capability to apply his skills in such diverse environments such as propulsion, robotics, space craft design and even education are, in my mind, the marks of true human genius.
Norman was kind enough to provide me with some great ideas for class content that I will be trying on my students in the coming weeks and months.
Overall I would say that we all carried away with us special memories of our trip to Houston. I hope that in the coming weeks the students who made the trip will post their stories to this blogsite so you too can read about their individual experiences.
In closing I wanted to mention something about our team.
The 8 student members from Malaysia I think should be proud of their efforts and conduct during our stay in Houston. Many people came to me specially to comment on how delighted they were with having the Malaysian guest members on their teams. I can safely say that we are always welcome back to the Johnson Space Center and it is my hope that those who follow in the footsteps of our "pioneer" team will continue to uphold and develop this tradition of excellence and spirit of adventure. I would like to thank each and every one of the members for their participation and courage during this remarkable event. You are all true leaders in the making.
I will post again soon so I hope that all visitors can remain up to date as to our activities. In the next few days I will be going to Penang to do a series of demonstrations at schools in the region. I will post the results of that here after my return.
All the best
Sam

Hello to all
The last few days have been very hectic and i apologise for not making it to the blog for an update.
The competition was held at the Gulruth Center just up the road from our hotel on Saturday, Sunday. The announce,ent of the finalist team was held at the Johnson Space Center Blast Off theater at 4pm on Monday after team proposals were submitted on Monday morning for judging.
The winning Company Dougledyne Astrosystems and Flechel Constructers consisting of the Apeejay and Whitney highschool students and our team members Daryl Goh and Ming Yi were delighted with their victory. To be honest i am glad i didnt have to be a judge because all the proposals were simply amazing and well reflected the talents and dedication of the respective team members.
I have posted a few extra pics here of the finals presentation ceremony including one of a team Nasa and Boeing Scientists and engineers who acted as CEOs and Judges. In the pic you can see from left to right are Dick Edwards who is one of the competition co founders and an engineer for NASAs Boeing division, Richard who works on the Solid Rocket Boosters for the Space Shuttle, Anita Gale who does Cargo Integration for the Space Shuttle, John Kube who works on the International Space Station and Jack Gafford who is also a Solid Rocket Booster engineer.
Working with these and other highly experienced engineers and scientists during the week has been a fascinating experience. I and the students have spent many hours together with these highly trained professionals learning and listening to their experiences working on the cutting edge of Space exploration
I think everybody was really thrilled to be here and will take home special memories of their visit. For me one of the highlights was touching a peice of rock that came from the moon and standing next to the Saturn V rocket. I know all the other team members have their own story to tell and I hope we can put some of them here on this site in the coming days.
Tomorrow morning we will be heading for the airport to return to Malaysia. The time has passed all to quickly but i am sure all the team is looking forward to going home.
I will post again soon with details of the competition and other activities we were involved with during our stay here.