Chino Roque is the first Filipino Astronaut to travel into space next year!
The 22-year-old psychology graduate from De La Salle Manila, bested two other Filipinos — Evan Ray Datuin and Ramil Santos — in the Axe Apollo Space Academy Competition.
On-board with XCOR Lync space plane, Chino Roque will travel together with 21 individuals from 60 countries for a 30-minute trip to space in 2014.
“Right now I’m very happy that a lot of people have been showing me their love and support. I feel so blessed and grateful to all of them,” Roque said in an interview.
The legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin declared Roque the first Filipino astronaut during awarding ceremonies at the Kennedy Space Center.
Roque will join 24 other winners who will fly to space in a Space Expedition Corp. shuttle.
According to space science website Space.com, winners of the AXE promo are expected to ride the XCOR Aerospace Lynx space plane, a shuttle designed for sub-orbital flight.
Space Expedition Corp. plans to launch commercial flights to the edge of space by 2015, a separate Space.com post said.
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