Malaysia's first space travellers will head to the US National Space and Aeronautical Administration (Nasa) in Texas next month for further training after their current stint in Russia ends, news reports said.

Science Minister Jamaluddin Jarjis said the two candidates will be with Nasa in Texas for up to three weeks, as part of the Malaysian Astronaut Programme, according to the Star daily.

"The International Space Station has two portions, the Russian and American, so they have to receive training from both sides," Jamaluddin was quoted as saying by the Star .

The two candidates - Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 34, and Capt Dr Faiz Khaleed, 26 - are currently undergoing training at the Yuri Gagarin Space Training Centre in Moscow. They were chosen from more than 11,000 hopefuls in a nationwide contest

One of them will be picked for the journey on Oct 6 and according to Jamaluddin, the government had yet to make its choice on the final candidate to blast off into space. The duo will head to Nasa in June.

The minister also said the government had yet to decide on the local television station that would be given the rights to telecast live the first Malaysian astronaut's activities in space.

"Efforts are also being made for Malaysians to communicate with the astronaut via the Internet when he is in space."

Jamaludin also announced that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was expected to be at the Baikanaur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at the launching of the spacecraft, which would also carry commander Yuri Ivanovich and Oleg Kotaty.

Abdullah is expected to meet the two candidates when he visits Russia next month.

Recognition as professionals

The professional training which the two finalists are going through in Russia will qualify them as professional astronauts, allowing them to join the Nasa programme.

The successful candidate is scheduled to leave for the international space station (ISS) on Sept 2 this year to undergo a research and development (R&D) programme, including research on cancer and biotechnology.

Malaysia's first astronaut will board Russia's space launcher Soyuz 2 before it is finally connected to the international space station.

At the station, he will spend six to eight days to carry out research in science and technology for the benefit of the Malaysian space science industry before returning to earth.

As part of their contract, neither Muzaphar and Faiz is allowed to marry until the mission concludes in 2008.

The astronaut project was conceived in 2003 when Russia agreed to send a Malaysian to the space station as part of a billion-dollar purchase of 18 Sukhoi 30-MKM fighter jets.