Iran to study space radiation effects

The head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) has expressed optimism about the re-launch of the country's Kavoshgar (Explorer) 4 satellite carrier following the probe's successful mission.

“All the predetermined objectives of launching the bio-capsule, which was designed by the [country's] aerospace experts, have been achieved,” ISA chief Hamid Fazeli told ISNA on Friday.

“Of course, our colleagues are analyzing data” collected from the March 17 blastoff of the Kavoshgar 4, he added.

The probe carried into space Iran's first domestically-made bio-capsule capable of 'sustaining life' by producing oxygen in a new way. Iranian researchers developed a new system for generating oxygen by the use of dry ice.

The ISA chief went on to say that the Kavoshgar's first mission was intended to assess the performance of the space explorer's systems and subsystems along with the launching pad, elevating mechanism, and the bio-capsule.

Fazeli expressed hope for the final launch of the Kavoshgar 4 with a living creature (a monkey) as its first passenger.

He further pointed out that the oxygen-producing system aboard the probe was 'the first' of its kind.

Kavoshgar 4 (Explorer 4) was scheduled to take a 120-kilometer course and carry out studies on solar radiation, as well as astronomical and meteorological studies.

On February 7, Iran unveiled four national satellites -- the Fajr (Dawn), Rasad (Observation), Amir Kabir I, Zafar (Victory) and the Kavoshgar 4satellite carrier.

Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite, the Omid (hope), into orbit in 2009.

The Omid data-processing satellite was designed to orbit the Earth 15 times every 24 hours and transmit data via two frequency bands and eight antennas to an Iranian space station.

Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.