Iran to send man into space
By Sara Rajabova
Despite international sanctions imposed on Iran, the country is committed to develop its space industry. To this end, it plans to send a man into space in the next 4 years.
Iran Space Agency Director Hamid Fazeli Fazeli said on September 30 that the agency has a plan to send a man into space, and the plan has been prepared within the framework of the national roadmap for scientific development, Mehr news agency reported.
The plan also suggests putting telecommunication and remote sensing satellites into orbit.
In May, Fazeli announced that Iran will launch Tadbir, Sharif, and Fajr satellites into space by the end of the current Iranian year which ends on March 20, 2015.
The Head of Iran's Aerospace Research Institute Mohammad Ebrahimi earlier said Iran's Aerospace Research Institute has an orbital and suborbital project to send a living creature to the space.
Ebrahimi said that Iran will first send a living creature to suborbital space, and later to orbital space and beyond. Ultimately, Iran's goal is to send its first man to space.
On January 28, 2013, Iran sent a monkey into space aboard an indigenous bio-capsule, code-named Pishgam (Pioneer), as a prelude to sending humans on space missions.
Iran launched its first indigenous satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. The country also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using the indigenous Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier. Iran frequently says that it will push ahead with its space program in the coming years.
The country is one of the 24 founding members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was established back in 1959.