Why chase an elusive dream?

 

There is no doubt that Malaysians have dreams that are too big for their own good.

A few years ago, we wanted to build a flying car. However, the project had its wings clipped even before it could go down the runway.

The entrepreneur development minister then, Redzuan Mohd Yusof, stated that it would be a private-sector driven initiative but that did not stop the government from throwing in RM20 million.

That was all taxpayers’ money. Basically, yours and mine.

Nothing has been heard of the project since 2019, which is just as well, because no one is inclined to put money into a project that is unlikely to take off.

All the same it did bring some comic relief which developed into a contagion on social media. Jokes and images of flying Protons were aplenty.

Now, the Malaysian Space Agency (Mysa) has announced an ambitious plan to build a rocket launch site.

It is said that Mysa is looking for interested parties in the private and public sectors to join hands with the government to realise this dream.

FMT has been told that there are plans to create partnerships with local companies that are already collaborating with international partners capable of developing such a facility.

The agency is also said to be seeking the collaboration of state governments to host the launch site and possibly finance the project or handle operational matters.

But where do we go from here, literally and figuratively?

Apart from it being an item of curiosity that is likely to turn into a white elephant eventually, there does not seem to be a lot going for it.

For a start, we would need a few rockets to launch if we are to justify the building of a rocket launch site.

But then again, we don’t have any to start with. So who is going to launch rockets from our launch sites?

The Chinese, Indians, Russians and Americans rule the space among the stars now, but they already have their own facilities to send countless rockets into space.

It is unlikely that they will ask to rent the Malaysian rocket launch site for another moonshot.

Hundreds of millions, if not billions, will likely be spent on putting in place a state-of-the-art launch site.

That is not even accounting for the expense of training personnel who will set the coordinates for a launch yet. We certainly don’t want a rocket aimed at Mars to land on Venus.

In the first place, why do we even have a space agency? What do we hope to get from investing in a rocket launch site?

We spent well over RM100 million to put one angkasawan on a flight to the international space station.

Ironically, some even proposed to add making teh tarik and tossing roti canai in zero gravity as items in his to-do list.

Thankfully, some good sense prevailed, and more serious research took place. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.