CHINO ROQUE - The First Filipino who will fly into space in 2015 - Axe Apollo Space Academy Competition Winner. Photo from Don Tagala's Twitter account
MANILA - The first Filipino astronaut who will fly into space in 2014 has been named.
Chino Roque, who bested two other Filipinos in the Axe Apollo Space Academy Competition, will join 21 others from 60 countries for the 30-minute trip to space.
The 22-year old is a psychology graduate from the De La Salle University Manila and has said in earlier interview that his edge lies in his "never-give-up type of attitude".
He is a crossfit coach and grew up joining different competitions. He is the youngest among the Filipino candidates Evan Ray Datuin and Ramil Santos.
Recently, the three Filipinos underwent rigorous astronaut training at the AXE Apollo Space Camp in Orlando, Florida.
Santos, an IT engineer, underwent air space combat training while Datuin went through high G-force training, a centrifuge machine that would reproduce the pressure that human body experiences when a space aircraft blasts off into space.
For his part, Roque underwent both air combat training and an assault course.
The 22 lucky winners will receive tickets to fly into space aboard X-COR Aerospace Lynx Aircraft in 2014.
For $95,000 per ticket, the space expedition corporation's reusable shuttle is expected to start flying customers to space in 2015. -- Report from Don Tagala, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
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