Can Someone Tell Me?

The New Straits Times said in EDITORIAL: Not yet the final frontier

"WHEN plans were made to launch a Malaysian into space, some wondered how such an endeavour could be beneficial. Or whether it was even at all possible. That question was answered definitively on Wednesday when the Soyuz rocket blasted into the infinite reaches of space with our own angkasawan on board. Malaysians watching the live telecast across the nation would have doubtlessly felt a transcendent surge of pride when the rocket lifted off, trailing a plume of brilliant orange from the arid plains of central Kazakhstan. History has been made. A Malaysian has achieved a feat that just several years ago was beyond anyone's wildest imaginings, and it proves beyond a flicker of doubt that Malaysia, certainly and absolutely, "boleh". The efforts and sacrifices of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha and certainly all the others who have helped propel the nation to such stratospheric heights deserve the highest approbation."

and more

Editorial: Coming to Earth
"MALAYSIANS," said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha's safe touchdown last Sunday afternoon on the steppes of Kazakhstan, "can stand a few inches taller now that we have had a Malaysian travel in space."

But then there is talk about needing A Bigger Budget. It is reported that "More money needs to be allocated for scientific research and development for Malaysia to experience a "big bang " in this sector."

Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Zaharuddin Idrus is quoted as saying ".....the experiments conducted by our first astronaut were of great importance in generating scientific knowledge, and not just an attempt to create an icon of a successful Malaysian space programme."The cost of sending one man into space should not be questioned as it hails the country stepping into the space programme. This is a genuine scientific project," he said at the Astro office in Technology Park Malaysia.

But why do we need to spend so much just to generate scientific knowledge? Money that could surely be better spent elsewhere?

Can someone tell me why this angkasawan thing is so much to be lauded? After all, there are people who, with the right price, go into space as Space Tourists....