At a press conference after witnessing the live telecast of theSoyuz TMA-11 blast-off at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on Wednesday evening, Badawi told reporters that Faiz would certainly join the space program if Malaysia was offered a place by the Russian government in the next mission to the ISS, as long as he was qualified to do so.

"I'm quite keen to accept the offer," The Star quoted Badawi assaying.

The success of the Soyuz launch signified a beginning for Malaysia to venture into space research programs on par with international teams, Badawi said.

"This is something new for us and it's obvious that the young people were very inspired by what they had seen," he said.

There would be more interest in space technology and space research from Malaysia, Badawi said.

Malaysia's orthopedic surgeon Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustafa, 35, blasted off Wednesday evening for the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, the same launch site for the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.

The astronaut, selected from more than 10,000 candidates, blasted off with Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko on board a Russian Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft.

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