In a seemingly quirky turn of events, state-sponsored Iranian television has announced that the Islamic Republic has has successfully put a monkey into space as a prelude to manned space flight.
"This shipment returned safely to Earth with the anticipated speed along with the live organism," Ahmad Vahidi, Iranian Defense Minister said to the state-sponsored news agency. "The launch of Kavoshgar and its retrieval is the first step towards sending humans into space in the next phase."
While reports essentially agree rocket launch, some were initially skeptical because the news came out of an Iranian news source, many of which have gained a reputation for being somewhat dubious.
The grey monkey astronaut pioneer was launched to a height of 75 miles, according to the state report, aboard a Kavoshgar rocket named "Pishgam" (which means "Pioneer"). Many believed this was an aggressive move by Iran to prove that it is gaining some serious rocket technology to complement its growing nuclear program.The tiny rocket, however, cannot put a payload into orbit, and doesn't seem to have many worried.
"It doesn't demonstrate any militarily significant technology," said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity, in a New York Times article. "This is a tiny old rocket, and what's on top is useful only for doing astronaut stuff."
The achievement still marks a couple landmarks for Iran. First, it proves that their capabilities for space flight, including life-support systems and the necessary scientific support, are improving. Second, while the rocket itself is not impressive, the launch shows that Iran is on the path to bigger, more powerful rockets that might one day be able to deliver a nuclear payload - this, it seems, nobody but Iran wants.
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