News Iran launches monkey into space (suborbital)

[orb]

Iran on Monday took a "big step" towards sending astronauts into space by 2020, successfully launching a monkey above the Earth's atmosphere, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television.

Arabic-language channel Al-Alam and other Iranian news agencies said the monkey returned alive after travelling in a capsule to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight.

"This success is the first step towards man conquering the space and it paves the way for other moves," General Vahidi said, but added that the process of putting a human into space would be a lengthy one.

"Today's successful launch follows previous successes we had in launching (space) probes with other living creatures (on board)," he said, referring to the launch in the past of a rat, turtles and worms into space.

"The monkey which was sent in this launch landed safely and alive and this is a big step for our experts and scientists," Vahidi said.

Florida Today: Iran claims it sent monkey into space and back

Discovery News: Iran: We've 'Sent a Monkey into Space'

SPACE.com: Iran Launches Monkey Into Space: Reports

Aviation Week: Iran Sends Monkey Into Space, Showing Missile Progress

Phys.org: Iran successfully sends monkey into space (Update)

Flightglobal: Iran claims to launch into space and recover live monkey

CBS News: Iran: We've sent a monkey to space

Associated Press / ABC News: Iran Says It Sent Monkey Into Space and Back

PressTV: Iran sends living creature into space

The New York Times: Iran Says It Sent a Monkey Into Space

 

[Notebook]

Been done before I think?

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3321

N.

 

[orb]

PressTVGlobalNews:

 

[FADEC]

Ham is back

I didn't think this would cause such a big news, 52 years after the first flight of a chimp. Back then people expected that we would be on Mars these days...

At least they could have chosen a different animal after Laika and Ham.

 

[boogabooga]

I saw in the "media" that this proves that Iran has mastered the "re-entry" technology to send an ICBM to where-ever.

Problem is with apogee at only 120 km, flight velocity could have been as low as what, Mach 3-4?

BTW, sending primates to near-space on sounding rockets predates HAM by almost a decade:
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=555

 

[Urwumpe]

That is not more high-tech that a V-2 - something Iran already had for decades. Launching a living payload into 120 km altitude is only important regarding the life-support systems, not the heat shielding.

It still takes a lot of work to get to "ICBM level" technology from there. Especially propulsion-wise. You need to get so good at propulsion, that you can use simpler, more reliable engines, that have less performance than space-launch versions, but also require much less care and can be prepared for launch faster. That is harder than it sounds, both USA and Soviet Union needed actually really expensive programs and multiple years to get from primitive prototype ICBMs (R-7, Atlas) over improved designs (R-16, Titan II) to truely militarily suitable systems (R-36, Minuteman)

Just making a rocket that can even practically fly from Iran to USA is no ICBM, even if you could use it once like that. The launch preparations would be too long, the training of the ground crew hardly to military standards, and the missile likely not even inflight suitable for the role. An ICBM is a full system, including hardware, software and meatware. Not just a rocket.

 

[orb]

At least they could have chosen a different animal after Laika and Ham.

A whale?

They've already launched a mouse and turtles previously. Launching monkeys seems reasonable if they eventually want to send humans into space too.


Anyway, this news isn't "big" because they've launched a monkey, but because it's their next step towards launching astronauts.

 

[sitha241]

Congrats to Iran

 

[N_Molson]

Though the humanitarian context of the country is a disaster, it would be interesting to see them achieve a manned launch, even suborbital.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Though the humanitarian context of the country is a disaster, it would be interesting to see them achieve a manned launch, even suborbital.

Thus making themselves just a second country in history conducting a manned suborbital launch on purpose! But who knows if this is their real plan.

 

[FADEC]

this news isn't "big" because they've launched a monkey, but because it's their next step towards launching astronauts.

That would be haplorhini as well, which is why they actually launched an astronaut

Of course it would be a great achievement for them. But the only thing that would knock my socks of is to see a return to deep space. I've seen humans in low earth orbit my entire life...

 

[Urwumpe]

That would be haplorhini as well, which is why they actually launched an astronaut

Of course it would be a great achievement for them. But the only thing that would knock my socks of is to see a return to deep space. I've seen humans in low earth orbit my entire life...

Will not happen. The first manned launch of Iran will be Ahmadinedjad, who fell out of political favor lately and will be promoted to ballistic president. Return is not expected at all.

 

[4throck]

Seems we need a chimp UMMU !

I'd very much like to see the capsule and reentry systems.

 

[boogabooga]

That is not more high-tech that a V-2 - something Iran already had for decades. Launching a living payload into 120 km altitude is only important regarding the life-support systems, not the heat shielding.

It still takes a lot of work to get to "ICBM level" technology from there. Especially propulsion-wise. You need to get so good at propulsion, that you can use simpler, more reliable engines, that have less performance than space-launch versions, but also require much less care and can be prepared for launch faster. That is harder than it sounds, both USA and Soviet Union needed actually really expensive programs and multiple years to get from primitive prototype ICBMs (R-7, Atlas) over improved designs (R-16, Titan II) to truely militarily suitable systems (R-36, Minuteman)

Just making a rocket that can even practically fly from Iran to USA is no ICBM, even if you could use it once like that. The launch preparations would be too long, the training of the ground crew hardly to military standards, and the missile likely not even inflight suitable for the role. An ICBM is a full system, including hardware, software and meatware. Not just a rocket.

Agreed, but the media here finds "experts" (who tend not to be engineers from some policy "thinktank") to say otherwise.

Media coverage exclusively focuses on making Iran seem super scary and dangerous, and intentionally so.

 

[Urwumpe]

Media coverage exclusively focuses on making Iran seem super scary and dangerous, and intentionally so.

Iran is scary and dangerous. But not by their weapons, but rather by which political friends they support. Their version of foreign aid is far more dangerous currently. And their nuclear program is looking more like Iran plans building nuclear submarines (Maximal 35% enrichment by estimated number of centrifuges)- strangely nobody talks in the "media" about it.

I think media experts are really the best example of how you can specialize in not knowing anything about a topic at all. I don't really like them, but they can be entertaining in their misery.

 

[Alfastar]

PressTVGlobalNews says at 0:15 : Iran send monkey in orbit. :facepalm:

Its Sub-orbital! Godwhoah, what a big mistake.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

PressTVGlobalNews says at 0:15 : Iran send monkey in orbit. :facepalm:

Its Sub-orbital! Godwhoah, what a big mistake.

It's an orbit, just with a negative perigee.

Iran is scary and dangerous. But not by their weapons, but rather by which political friends they support. Their version of foreign aid is far more dangerous currently. And their nuclear program is looking more like Iran plans building nuclear submarines (Maximal 35% enrichment by estimated number of centrifuges)- strangely nobody talks in the "media" about it.

I think media experts are really the best example of how you can specialize in not knowing anything about a topic at all. I don't really like them, but they can be entertaining in their misery.

Never knew about it - but it makes sense. Why shoot a nuclear warhead thousands of km when you got the US navy cruising around the Persian Gulf? :hmm:

 

[mahdavi3d]

Pishgam (Pioneer) / The space capsule, code-named Pishgam (Pioneer)...

more images on below links:
http://mod.ir/category/گالری-عکس/گزارش-تصویری-از-پرتاب-موفق-كاوشگر-«-پيشگام-»به-فضا
http://isna.ir/fa/imageReport/91111005906/پرتاب-کاوشگر-حامل-موجود-زنده-پیشگام-به#11
http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1803347
http://farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=13911110000521

and a short video, recorded by on-board cameras:
http://trainbit.com/files/7006619884/771020_916.flv
(4.28 MB)

 

[Notebook]

Legend has it that Ham(Astro-Chimp), was less than impressed when he came back to earth(Atlantic). Even less impressed when he saw his old trainer at the zoo he had been retired to, and retaliated in the way chimps dooo....

N.

 

[Loru]

Yes. Media "experts":

I think that screen speaks for itself