Bad weather in Moscow prevented Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from holding a teleconferencing with the first Malaysian in space on Sunday night.

According to Bernama , Abdullah expressed disappointment for not being able to talk with Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, who is in the International Space Station (ISS), at the scheduled time of 8.20pm on Sunday.

"I am disappointed. I had wanted to extend Hari Raya Aidilfitri greetings to Dr Muszaphar. It appears that it is not possible," he said in a televised interview beamed from the prime minister's official residence Seri Perdana in Putrajaya.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Jamaludin Jarjis said the teleconferencing did not materialise because the transmission link between the Mission Control Centre (MCC) in Moscow and the ISS could not be established during a 10-minute window when the ISS passed over Russia due to bad weather in Moscow.

He said that the technical hitch prevented audio and visual signals from being transmitted directly to Malaysia and re-routed to Seri Perdana.

He however added that another attempt for teleconferencing would be made on the night of Oct 16, next Tuesday.

Abdullah meanwhile said that he had also intended to ask Sheikh Muszaphar about his feelings and health besides the progress of the assignment he had been tasked with.

"He is not there for a holiday to view the earth from up there. He has certain tasks to perform while in the ISS," he said.

Among elites now

Sheikh Muszaphar, 35, lifted off into space on Oct 10 along with American Commander Peggy Whitson and Russian Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to become the first Malaysian in space.

Their spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-11, docked with the ISS on Friday and the three astronauts entered the ISS.

Abdullah said the historic event marked Malaysia's entry into the second phase of its space science programme, placing the country among the elite nations that have ventured into space.

"I am happy. This historic event has proven that we have the capability to send a Malaysian to space," he said.

The prime minister said Malaysia would continue to pursue the space science programme by cooperating with countries which are pioneers in the field of science and technology, such as Russia and the United States, to carry out more research beneficial to mankind.

"We want to continue to participate and be positive in the programme because the findings of research in space can be used for the betterment of mankind," he said.

He said the country's involvement in the space programme also showed that Malaysia was on track to be a developed nation.