Iran Plans To Put a Monkey Into Space

arisvega writes "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 satellite, state television reported on its website on Thursday. 'The Kavoshgar-5 rocket will be launched during the month of Mordad (July 23 to August 23) with a 285-kilogramme capsule carrying a monkey to an altitude of 120 kilometres (74 miles),' said Hamid Fazeli, head of Iran's Space Organisation. No mentioning on retrieving the monkey, though."

You're a little late to the party, Iran.

[DurendalMac]

This was done fifty years ago. Then again, I seriously doubt this kind of thing has anything to do with an actual space program and more a flimsy facade for a rocket test.

This is how you signal ICBM capability

[Dr. Spork]

This sounds all scientific and stuff, but basically the sending of larger mammals (plus life support gear) into space also indicates that you can send a nuclear warhead to any place on Earth. The Soviets first did this with Laika aboard Sputnik II, and this basically started a new phase of the cold war.

Re:You're a little late to the party, Iran.

[Mindcontrolled]

I doubt that any space program in history has been run without thought for the military applications of the technology.

Re:Yeah, Africa has about a billion monkeys, and t

[Mindcontrolled]

What did you expect? There's been a war against the middle east going on for quite some years. Dehumanizing the enemy is always part of the plan, seems it has caught on well.