Malaysia's first astronaut was to blast off on Wednesday on a voyage into space seen as breaking new boundaries for his Asian nation and for space travel by Muslims.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was to lift off from Baikonur cosmodrome at 1322 GMT in a Russian Soyuz rocket headed for the International Space Station (ISS) with Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and American Peggy Whitson.

The 50-metre (160-foot) rocket adorned with the US, Malaysian and Russian flags was earlier raised into position at Baikonur, an arid stretch of the Kazakh steppe dotted with camels and the paraphernalia of 50 years of space flight.

Muszaphar was to spend nine days on the ISS, arriving at the orbiting station near the end of the holy month of Ramadan and staying there for the Eid festival, when he will treat the long-term crew to festive Malaysian food.

Malaysian officials have described the first ever space flight by a Malaysian as a milestone for their country, which is marking 50 years of independence.

Muszaphar, a 35-year-old doctor who has spent a year training for the flight in Russia, said Tuesday that he hoped to inspire Malaysians to further space achievements and that Malaysia should have its own spacecraft by 2020.

He said he felt confident in the capable hands of Malenchenko and Whitson, who have spent many months at the ISS before.

"I feel actually calm especially during the holy month of Ramadan. I feel more relaxed. I've been training for the past year in Star City and I believe I have what it takes," he said, referring to the Russian astronaut training centre.

"Going to space is a small step for me but it's definitely a giant leap for all the Malaysian people and I hope to be the eyes and the ears of all the Malaysian people and come back and share all my experiences," he said.

Muszaphar will conduct experiments on behalf of Malaysia's Genome Institute, including tests on cancer cells.

One of very few Muslims to have travelled to space, he has said he will try to observe the fasting rules of Ramadan and when he gets back will share his experiences with other Muslims.

Malaysian religious authorities have prepared guidelines adapting religious rules to life on the ISS, which circles the Earth 16 times per calendar day, meaning that without special dispensation he would be obliged to pray 80 times in 24 hours.

The guidelines say that the astronaut need only pray five times a day and that the times should follow the location of the spacecraft's launch.

The visit has been arranged as part of a billion-dollar purchase by Malaysia of Russian fighter jets, Russia being the operator of Baikonur, in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the start of modern space travel, which dates from the Soviet Union's launch of the first ever satellite, Sputnik 1, from Baikonur on October 4, 1957.

The crew were to board the craft several hours early wearing space suits designed to remove waste products early in the voyage.

Strapped into individually fitted seats, they were to adopt a foetal position for the blast-off.

Russia has launched about 1,800 Soyuz rockets in various adaptations and ground staff were confident of a successful launch.

The Soyuz was also to transport scientific materials for the European Space Agency and the US space agency NASA.