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Iran to send new home-made satellite carrier into space late July

28 June 2011 [15:00] - TODAY.AZ
Iran plans to send a new home-made 285-kilogram satellite carrier capable of carrying a biocapsule of live creatures, like monkies, into the orbit late July, Fars News Agency reported.

Head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli said the country plans to send a live monkey into space onboard the country's domestically-made Kavoshgar 5 (Explorer 5) satellite carrier.

"Kavoshgar 5, with a weight of 285 kg, will blast off into space with a living creature (a monkey) in the next Iranian calendar month (that begins on July 23)," Fazeli said on Monday.

He further explained that Kavoshgar 5 has a structural built similar to the Omid (Hope) satellite, Iran's first domestically-produced satellite which launched into orbit in 2009.

The Omid data-processing satellite was designed to circle the Earth 15 times per day and to transmit data via two frequency bands and eight antennas to an Iranian space station.

Fazeli also pointed out that five monkeys are currently undergoing experiments to get ready for the launch. The monkeys are taking exercises to "withstand physical and orbital pressure, acceleration, sound [boom], vibrations and other elements during the lift-off."

The ISA head noted that certain changes have been made in the subsystem of the Kavoshgar 5 carrier and said it needs to use liquid fuel as it has been modified to accelerate more than its previous prototypes.

Iranian scientists managed to send a biocapsule of living creatures into the space in 2010.

"The first biocapsule of living creatures from Iran was sent into the space on the back of Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier," Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said at the time.


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URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/89249.html

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