Malaysian hopes space trip inspires his country

HOUSTON, July 24 (Reuters) Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, set to become the first Malaysian to fly into space, said his goal for the October flight is a lofty one -- to inspire his country to greater things.

The 34-year-old physician will fly to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in a deal his government arranged with the Russians as part of a 1 billion dollar purchase of Russian fighter jets.

On the Soyuz with him will be Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will take over as the first female commander of the station.

Shukor will be the latest space tourist to fly to the 100 billion dollar station. He said at a news conference at NASA's ohnson Space Center he plans to spend his time in space conducting experiments and hopefully capturing the attention of his fellow Malaysians in the process.

He said he wants his voyage to inspire an interest in math and science among the young, and thereby help improve Malaysia's future.

''Being the first Malaysian angkasawan (astronaut) has been a big responsibility on my shoulders,'' Shukor said. ''Hopefully the space program, it will change the entire nation to look forward to become a better developed nation.'' Shukor was selected from among 11,000 candidates in what he described as ''a very tiring process.'' Since then, he has been training with astronauts and cosmonauts, who on Monday said he appears to have the right stuff for spaceflight.

''He has extensive knowledge and he has the right quality of character for doing this operation. I expect that everything should be okay,'' Malenchenko said through an interpreter.

Whitson will replace current commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, who along with Oleg Kotov, will return home with Shukor on the Soyuz after a few days of hand over to the new crew members.

Whitson, 47, said she hoped her command of the 100 billion dollar space station would attract more young women into math, science and engineering.

''I think it's important for young women to see where we're headed in the future and be a part of the exploration as well, so I hope I can serve as a role model,'' she said.

REUTERS CS PM0635