KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Two Malaysian astronaut candidates will undergo training at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) this June, a senior official said Saturday.

    The three weeks' training in Texas aims to familiarize them with the American section of the International Space Station (ISS),Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Jamaludin Jarjis told reporters in the administrative center of Putrajaya.

    Currently, the two candidates, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 35, and Faiz Khaleed, 27, are undergoing training at the Yuri Gagarin Space Training Center in Moscow, Russia.

    One of them will board Russia's space launcher Soyuz 2 to arrive at the ISS this October, thus becoming the first spaceman in the history of Malaysia.

    Meanwhile, Jamaludin said his ministry is in discussion with Russian and American telecommunication service providers as well as Malaysian companies to facilitate live telecast of the historic event.