A crossfit coach will be the first Filipino to ever fly into space in the Axe Apollo Space program in 2014, according to a news website report.
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| Chino Roque |
Chino Roque, a 22-year old psyschology graduate from De La Salle University Manila, bested two other Filipinos in the Axe Apollo Space Academy Competition held in Orlando, Florida.
He will be joining the 21 youths from 60 countries for the 30-minute trip to space.
In an article from ABS-CBN's North America Bureau, it said Roque is the youngest among the Filipino candidates Evan Ray Datuin and Ramil Santos and was a replacement for Air Force pilot Lt. Mario Mendoza Jr., who dropped out of the space race citing conflicts in schedule.
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| Chino Roque, flanked by fellow Filipinos 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 assault course.
The 22 lucky winners will receive tickets to fly into space aboard X-COR Aerospace Lynx Aircraft in 2014.
Axe, in a statement, said their space expedition corporation's reusable shuttle is expected to start flying customers to space in 2015 at a price of $95,000 per ticket.