Iran’s First Manned Spacecraft Unveiled

The first Iranian-built manned spacecraft has been unveiled at the Tehran’s Museum of Science and Technology.

The capsule is to take individuals to the International Space Station in the future while some 150 Iranians have so far signed up as volunteer for the space mission.

Prior to the manned mission, two dummies and a monkey will be launched into space as part of an experimental project.

The space capsule was originally scheduled to place an individual in orbit at an altitude of 170 km by March 2016, but the project was put off for three years.

On Iran’s National Day of Space Technology, celebrated this year on February 17, the country unveiled a prototype of the spacecraft capable of sending a human to space.

Authorities said that time the trial test will be conducted this year bringing the country closer to its wildest dream of sending a first astronaut where no Iranian has ever been before.

Moreover, Iranian officials previously had reported that the country plans to send human into space within some years.

Director of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli said in 2013 that his country plans to send human beings to half-hour space missions within some years. He pointed to Iran’s plans to send big animals, including chimpanzees, into the space in the near future and noted that the next phase of the project is to send human beings aboard a bio-capsule to a specific altitude into the outer space and returning them within less than 30 minutes.

On February 2, the country successfully launched Fajr satellite to space using a Safir-2 rocket.

In 2013, the country also sent two monkeys into space and safely returned them to the ground and before that in 2010, Iran sent several small animals into space, including a rat and a turtle.

Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite in 2009. The country plans to send several more satellites into space by March 2016. The main function of the spacecraft is to transmit images of the Earth’s surface to ground stations.

fair to share...