Iranian officials acknowledged Oct. 12 that they had attempted to launch a monkey into space but the effort was a failure, AFP reported.
The state-run ISNA news agency quoted Deputy Science Minister Mohammad Mehdinejad-Nouri as saying, “The Kavoshgar-5 rocket carrying a capsule with a live animal was launched during Shahrivar. However, the launch was not publicized as all of its anticipated objectives were not accomplished.” Shahrivar is an Iranian calendar month spanning Aug. 23 to Sept. 22.
Iran intended to launch the monkey in a capsule with life support to an altitude of 120 kilometers for a 20-minute suborbital flight. It was touted as the first step toward sending a man into space.
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