Iran to send 2nd monkey into space: Official

Iran plans to send its second monkey into space onboard the home-made rocket named Pishgam ( Pioneer) II within 45 days, Iran Space Agency director Hamid Fazeli was quoted as saying by local media on Sunday.

In January, Iran sent a capsule containing a monkey onboard Pishgam (Pioneer) I into space.

Fazeli said unlike the first rocket which was solid-fueled, the Pishgam II will use liquid propellant, according to Tehran Times daily.

The plan to send living creatures into space is part of the project to send human beings into space within a course of five to eight years, said the Iranian official.

ISA has plans to launch the Tadbir (Prudence) research satellite as well as Sharif and Nahid satellites into space by the end of the Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2014, he added.

According to Xinhua, Iran, a founding member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, launched its first domestically-made data-processing satellite the Omid (Hope) in 2009.

Iran frequently says that it will push ahead with its space program in the coming years.