Astronaut from over the ocean glorifies Kirghizia in space

In April days of Cosmonautics Day’s celebration, it became known in Kirghizia, that Kirghiz Salizhan Sharipov was included into the crew of the ISS. The cosmonaut from the city of Uzgen, Osh Region will participate in space flight next August. At the moment, he intensively trains in a special astronaut camp in Florida. Salizhan Sharipov flies to the space already for the second time, though he has not flown to the space from Baykonur. Apropos, Salizhan was born April 12, exactly in 8 years, after the first cosmonaut of the Earth, Yury Gagarin flew to the space. Salizhan’s dream and his persistence helped him to become astronaut. Over the ocean, he is considered one of the most trained commanders of space shuttle. The astronaut’s family – his father, four brothers and two sisters - still lives in his motherland, in a small south-Kirghizian town of Uzgen. And of course, they are known to everybody there. They are proud of Salizhan having glorified his republic. Unfortunately the astronaut’s mother has not lived till this day, when her son’s name became known to the whole planet. Today’s honour to the astronaut’s family cannot be compared with that one of the Soviet time. Kirghizia is not so rich, as the Soviet Union was. Though, the authorities do not forget Salizhan’s family. That modest house was visited by President Askar Akaev, writer Chingiz Aitmatov, and many other famous Kirghiz. As for money, the family manages with its own forces. Even the 73-year-old father still works. It is interesting, that from his first trip to the US, where the axakal visited his son, he brought a tool kit: he likes US steel very much. Apropos, Kirghizia is connected with space not only through the astronaut’s family. Just these April days, in Bishkek testing of an up-to-date radio-telescope was completed, prepared by Aalam firm according to the order of Moscow Space Investigation Institute. The title Aalam belongs to the former design office which has been working in Kirghiz capital for many years. According to the Aalam director, Alexandr Glushenko, the firm does not have its best times now, however the specialists can do everything. Telescopes and other complicated devices produced in Bishkek were in their time established on space stations launched to the Moon and to Mars, and they successfully studied Galley Comet. Alexandr Glushenko said that Aalam firm is glad to produce a series of radio-telescopes for the Russian colleagues. According to him, some of the telescopes are placed now in so-called “pure room,” where only one speck of dust on one cubic metre of space is permissible: here, assembling of telescopes is being completed. The Aalam director hopes that namely Kirghiz telescope could help Salizhan Sharipov in the space. Yury Razgulaev PRAVDA.Ru Bishkek Kirghizia

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/04/19/39964.html