Million dollar meteorite collection

Maverick (unconve-ntional) Malaysian entrepreneur Jaafar Jamaludin, who loves "chasing" shooting starts,has a collection of meteorites worth some RM40 million (Malaysian ringgit).

He said many Malaysians are unfamiliar with meteorites and their potential to become money-spinners.

Meteorites are rock fragments formed when asteroids that have been broken off in a collision survive their encounter with Earth's atmosphere.

Jaafar, an astronomy enthusiast, and his foreign partners run a company, which has been collecting meteorites from all over the world for more than 10 years.

He told The Star newspaper: "People only hear of these shooting stars landing near somebody's home in various parts of the world, or spot a shooting star flying across the sky. But they will never dream of touching a meteorite.

"We want to make meteorites available to the public by turning them into consumer products like car accessories, jewellery, apparel, souvenirs and building materials."

Jaafar set up his RM11.4 million showroom and factory in Taman Ria Jaya in Sungai Petani in 2004.

However, there are some doubts over his venture, " The local banks are rather sceptical (unwilling to believe) that this business can turn into a money-spinner.

"Our attempts to get local bankers to back our venture have not been fruitful," he said.

He said his opal (quartz-like stone) helped keep his meteorite venture afloat in the past two years.

-The Star/Asia News Network.

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Singapore, launch pad for space trips

Singapore has been chosen as the site of an integrated combined port which will offer space flights as well as astronaut training.

United States-based Space Adventures, the company behind the voyages of the world's first three space tourists, disclosed this to The Straits Times.

Singapore was chosen ahead of contenders such as several US States, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Dubai, after a year-long selection process.

When ready, the space port will be used to stage commercial sub-orbital flights, whereby the space vehicle exits the earth's atmosphere at about 100 Km above ground, but does not reach the speeds needed to sustain a continuous orbit of Earth.

The result: About five minutes of weightlessness, a view of the curvature of the Earth and the darkness of space, before descent.

Passengers can expect to pay about US$ 102,000 for the thrill. The company will train travellers at the astronaut training centre in Singapore.

Space Adventures was set up by a US astronaut in 1998.

The company was behind the voyages of the world's first three space tourists: American Dennis Tito in 2001, South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, and Greg Olsen, another American, in October. They paid US$ 20 million each for a one-week stay on the International Space Station.

The Straits Times