Sunday 4 Dec 2011

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian scientists plan to send a second biocapsule of
living creatures, probably mice, into the space, an academic revealed on
Sunday without giving any specific date for the launch.

"The plan for sending living creature into space was approved and it is
waiting for a final approval," Mansour Kabkanian, a professor at
Tehran's Amirkabir University, said on Sunday.

"After the final approval, the plan for sending living creatures
into space will be implemented," he said, adding that the country plans
to send the living creatures to the altitude of 300km below the 70
degrees orbit.

Kabkanian also mentioned that Iranian scientists have proposed
sending mice into space since they are stronger and more resistant than
other mammals.

Also earlier this year, Head of Iran's Space Agency renewed his promise that Iran would send a live monkey into space.

"One cannot give a set date for this project and as soon as our
nation's scientists announce the readiness (of the project) it will be
announced," said Hamid Fazeli in October.

Fazeli had said in mid-June that Iran plans to launch a Kavoshgar-5
rocket with a 285-kilogram capsule carrying a monkey to an altitude of
120 kilometers (74 miles)."

"Our scientists are exerting continuous efforts on this project...
our colleagues are busy with empirical studies and sub-system testing of
this project so it is a success," he said.

In mid-March, Iran's space organization announced the launch of the
Kavoshgar-4 rocket carrying a test capsule designed to house the monkey.

The capsule had been unveiled in February by President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, along with four new prototypes of home-built satellites the
country hopes to launch before March 2012.

At the time, Fazeli called the launch of a large animal into space
as the first step towards sending a man into space, which Tehran says is
scheduled for 2020.

Iran has already sent small animals into space - a rat, turtles and
worms - aboard a capsule carried by its Kavoshgar-3 rocket in 2010.

The Islamic republic, which first put a satellite into orbit in
2009, has outlined an ambitious space program and has, thus far, made
giant progress in the field despite western sanctions and pressures
against its advancement.

Iran announced in February that it planned to unveil and send two recently-built satellites into space in the near future.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in 2010 that Iran
plans to send astronauts into space in 2024. But, later he said that the
issue had gone under a second study at a cabinet meeting and that the
cabinet had decided to implement the plan in 2019, five years earlier
than the date envisaged in the original plan.

Omid (hope) was Iran's first research satellite that was designed
for gathering information and testing equipment. After orbiting for
three months, Omid successfully completed its mission without any
problem. It completed more than 700 orbits over seven weeks and
reentered the Earth's atmosphere on April 25, 2009.

After launching Omid, Tehran unveiled three new satellites called
Tolou, Mesbah II and Navid, respectively. Iran has also unveiled its
latest achievements in designing and producing satellite carriers very
recently.

A new generation of home-made satellites and a new satellite carrier
called Simorgh (Phoenix) were among the latest achievements unveiled by
Iran's aerospace industries.

The milk-bottle shaped rocket is equipped to carry a 60-kilogram (132-pound) satellite 500 kilometers (310 miles) into orbit.

The 27-meter (90 foot) tall multi-stage rocket weighs 85 tons and
its liquid fuel propulsion system has a thrust of up to 143 tons.

Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations'
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), which was set
up in 1959.



http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007276161