Space programme - S & T for Malaysian

reatt

Salaam ..

Lots of pro and cons were discussed on the Malaysian space programme.
However, I have yet to come across a thread discussing the technical and scientific aspect.

Thus, listed below are few things that are worth your reading. Feel free to add or comment (or kutuk )  
Hope we can discuss intelligently (pls be aware that I'm not taksub on this thing).

1. M'sian religious authorities had prepared guidelines adapting religious rules to life on the ISS, which circles the Earth 16 times per calendar day, meaning that w'out special dispensation he would be obliged to pray 80 times in 24 hours.  2. This month marks the 50th anniversary of the start of modern space travel, which dates fr the Soviet Union's launch of the first ever satellite, Sputnik 1, from Baikonur on October 4, 1957. (we were just about 2 months into our Merdeka)by Staff Writers
Baikonur, Kazakhstan (AFP) Oct 10, 2007

3. The Russian rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan on Weds, cutting a blinding orange trail across the clouds to the ISS.
The rocket was adorned with the Malaysian flag in honour of the historic event.

reatt

Continue... yes , apart from that first man to outer space, we do have a space agency.

i read from http://www.wired.com/science/space/news/2007/09/mecca_in_orbit

SMS has a problem. Two problems. The first is that Mecca keeps moving.

Well, not really. It's Shukor who'll be moving.  He's scheduled to lift off October 10 in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a nine-day visit during the holy month of Ramadan to the ISS.
In his daily prayers he wants to face Mecca, specifically the Ka'aba - that's where the trouble comes in.

From ISS, orbiting 220 miles above the surface of the Earth, the qibla  changes from second to second.  During some parts of the ISS's orbit, the qibla can move nearly 180 degrees during the course of a single prayer. What to do?
Malaysia'a space agency (Angkasa) , convened a conference of 150 Islamic scientists & scholars to wrestle with these.

Thus "A Guideline of Performing Ibadah at the ISS" was approved by Fatwa Council.
According to the report, determining the qibla should be "based on what is possible" for the astronaut, & can be prioritized this way: 1) the Ka'aba, 2) the projection of Ka'aba, 3) the Earth 4) wherever.

This leads to Shukor's 2nd problem.
There are 2 distinct schools of thought for determining the qibla:  

    i.   the commonly used Great Circle method and
   ii.  the less common rhumb-line method.

Looking at a flat map using any standard projection shows that a rhumb line (a line that cuts equal angles across all lines of longitude) drawn from, say, the Johnson Space Center in Houston to Mecca runs east-southeast.
The numbers also bear this out -- the space center is to the north and west of the Ka'aba, so any travel to the holy city should naturally be to the southeast.

Lay a string across a globe, however & everything changes.

A great circle -- the shortest distance between two points on a sphere -- between Houston and Mecca initially arcs to the northeast, then curves southward to the Saudi peninsula.  Islamic scientists knew as early as the ninth century CE that the great circle route provided the shortest path to Mecca from anywhere in the world, even though it may in some places seem counterintuitive (Muslims in Alaska, for example, pray facing almost due north).  Great circle formulae are at the root of nearly every onlnie qibla compass.

reatt

cont....


One Muslim cartographer favors the great circle route, but adds, "Prayer is not supposed to be a gymnastic exercise. One is supposed to concentrate on the prayer rather the exact orientation."

He points out that in a train or plane, it's customary to start in the qibla direction but then continue the prayer without worrying about possible changes in position.

But how does that work in space ?

Mathematically, SMS would need to place both ISS & Mecca on the same imaginary sphere -- by either comparing the place on Earth directly beneath ISS with the real Ka'aba, or by projecting the Ka'aba into space (the option recommended by the Fatwa Council).

- kalau aku ler... pakai imagine mcm yg last tu jer... he he

reatt

cont..

..... Yet the option to pray while facing a point in space brings up another problem.

Muslims face the ground to pray, in part to avoid any hint of pagan sun or moon worship
-  If the Ka'aba projection happens to line up with the sun or moon, purists might believe the prayer invalid.

In space, the ritual prayer might be offset for more of a prayer that is allowed when on jihad ... for the lack of gravity and directional accuracy makes it legitimate to do as one sees fit. God does not take a person to task for that which is beyond his/her ability to work with.

Questions like these will continue as more and more religious astronauts travel into space.

When is sunset in low Earth orbit if you're experiencing a dozen sunrises and sunsets in every 24-hour period?

When is the first sighting of the crescent moon if you're on Mars ?

Religious councils will have plenty to keep them busy for years.

cipanbakar

projek nih projek glamer. jabatan agama pun nak tumpang glamer jek

reatt

Originally posted by cipanbakar at 23-10-2007 02:23 AM
projek nih projek glamer. jabatan agama pun nak tumpang glamer jek

tul ker.... ?  
kasi can la para ustaz dgn ustazah pecah kepala memikirkan hal ibadat di angkasa

- ni fardhu kifayah dan moga sama-sama leh berkongsi pahala.