[2][3] Sheikh Muszaphar flew under an agreement with Russia through the Angkasawan program, and returned to Earth on 21 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-10 with the Expedition 15 crew members, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov.

The program arose after Russia agreed to transport one Malaysian to the ISS as part of a multi-billion purchase of 18 Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets by Malaysia.

After completing initial training at Star City in Russia, Sheikh Muszaphar and Faiz Khaleed were selected to undergo an 18-month training program in Russia, at the end of which Sheikh Muszaphar was chosen as the prime crew member, while Faiz Khaleed served as back-up.

[12] Following the final medical tests and training examinations, on 17 September, it was announced that Sheikh Muszaphar would be flying on the Soyuz TMA-11 mission.

[5][16][17][18] Speaking to Malaysian media outlets, Alexander Karchava, the Russian ambassador to Malaysia, stated that Sheikh Muszaphar is a "fully-fledged cosmonaut".

[20] Soyuz TMA-11 carrying Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson and Sheikh Muszaphar successfully launched at 13:22 UTC, Wednesday, 10 October 2007.

Sheikh Muszaphar celebrated Eid ul-Fitr aboard the station, and packed some satay and cookies to hand out to the rest of the crew on 13 October 2007 to mark the end of Ramadan.