Ahmadinejad: Iran Plans to Send Scientists to Space
News number: 881114135216:03 | 2010-02-03Science
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8811141352

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday announced
Tehran's plans for sending scientists and astronauts into space in future.

Referring to the successes attained by Iran during the last two years in
launching satellite and sending living creatures to space, Ahmadinejad
reiterated, "They are preliminary measures for great works."

"With God's help, (Iranian) scientists will be sent into the space and they
will observe the universe from there," the Iranian president said at a
ceremony to unveil several national achievements, specially in the field of
aerospace.

The Iranian president also urged for the creation of a powerful and
concentrated space organization and vowed his government's full support for
such a move.

Iran on Wednesday sent the first biocapsule of living creatures into space,
using its home-made Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.

Iran also unveiled a new generation of home-made satellites and a new
satellite carrier called Simorgh (Phoenix).

The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue with the words "Satellite
Carrier Simorgh," is equipped to carry a 60-kilogram (132-pound) satellite
500 kilometers (310 miles) into orbit.

The 27-meter (90 foot) tall multi-stage rocket weighs 85 tons and its liquid
fuel propulsion system has a thrust of up to 143 tons.