Iran plans to send a live monkey into space in the summer, the country’s top space official said after the launch of the Rassad-1 (Observation-1) satellite, state television reported today.
“The Kavoshgar-5 rocket will be launched during the month of Mordad [July 23 to August 23] with a 285-kilogram capsule carrying a monkey to an altitude of 120 kilometers ,” according to Hamid Fazeli, the head of Iran’s space organization.
Fazeli touted the launch of a large animal into space as the first step toward sending a man into space, which Tehran claims is scheduled for 2020.
ould deliver nuclear warheads, but Tehran has repeatedly denied that its contentious nuclear and scientific programs mask military ambitions.