Iran will take animals to space

Tehran is planning to launch space exploration spacecraft with a number of animals living inside, to make way for their manned space flights in the future.

Safir-e Omid heavy space rocket boosters of Iran.Photo: ISNA.

The deputy director of the Iran Space Research Institute Mohammad Ebrahimi added that the country plans to launch the Kavoshgar boat (Explorers) 3 and 4 into space in the near future. Earlier, the Kavoshgar 2 was successfully launched on November 26, carrying cargo compartments, experimental compartments and navigation systems back.

According to Ebrahimi, the space rocket analyzed the wind pressure and speed, and conducted astronomical experiments at a height of 50 to 200 km. Kavoshgar 2 is a solid fuel booster that operates in two stages, can carry a small amount of goods and return to the lower atmosphere with high accuracy. The return compartment of this spacecraft returned to Earth by 40 minutes after being launched.

In the near future, Iran will also conduct two other test launches aimed at bringing a working satellite to orbit with a large-size rocket called Safir-e Omid. In August, the country announced that it had successfully launched a fake satellite in space, but the United States rejected it.

Iran claims its space program is only for scientific research and does not carry any military purposes.