The shortlist for the first Malaysian astronaut now stands at 894 - and within two weeks they have to run a 3.5km course within 20 minutes or be out of the race.

The 11,275 applications were vetted and reduced to 1,994 and when the National Space Agency informed them of the need to compete in the 3.5km race, only 894 accepted the challenge, including a retired Royal Malaysian Air Force pilot who is the oldest candidate.

The chosen one will get to enjoy a six- to eight-day “stay” at the International Space Station in the second half of 2007. The stint and the training are estimated to cost US$25million (RM95 million).

Malaysia's participation in the space programme came about following an agreement with Russia after the purchase of 18 Sukhoi Su-30 MKM fighter jets worth US$900 million (RM3.42 billion).

Under the package, Russia agreed to a transfer of technology worth 30 per cent or RM1.06 billion of the jets' purchase cost, which includes the US$25 million to send a Malaysian into outer space.

Russia is pushing ahead with plans to launch the first Malaysian astronaut into space over the next three years, the Interfax news agency said Friday.

The first Malaysian astronaut is likely to fly to the International Space Station in October 2007, heads of the Russian and Malaysian space agencies Anatoly Perminov and Mazlan Othman agreed on Friday, Interfax said.

We are considering the flight of a Malaysian astronaut to ISS no later than 2007. We take October 2007 as a basic time, Othman said.

Perminov told the news agency Russia had no objections to the date or the time frame.

The training of an astronaut should begin no later than 13 months before the flight, he told Interfax.

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