Kavashgar-5 Pishgam (Pioneer) Capsule
© By Charles P. Vick (All Rights Reserved)
Senior Technical Analyst
07-21-10/6-16-11/ 8-6-12/3-12-13
Kavashgar-5
Iran had planned to launch its Kavashgar-5 (Explorer-5), 285-300 kilogram bio-capsule with a rhesus monkey on board to an altitude of 120-130 kilometers on an about 20 minute sub-orbital flight during mid-September 2011 or the month of Mordad (July 23-Aug. 23, 2011). That in fact was delayed many months until on October 3, 2012 the Iranian Space Agency announced that it had indefinitely delayed the Kavashgar-5 (Explorer-5) live monkey launch attempt.
This was followed on October 12, 2011 when it was revealed that the Iranian Space Agency had failed in the first attempt to carry out the mission successfully between August 23 and September 22, 2011 with the loss of the experimental flight test live rhesus monkey. The news was only briefly released to the press through ISNA news agency but the regime quickly made the announcement disappear with no trace. It was however successfully picked up and released by AFP news agency to the World before the regime could close that door.
Kavashgar-4 demonstrated the package successfully for carrying Monkey with a doll in place of the Monkey within the payload. The Kavashgar series are designed as vertical probes sounding rockets that fly nearly vertically taking payloads to orbital satellite altitudes ballistic ally and back to Earth. They are not capable of earth orbital flight. The Kavashgar solid motor based military rocket is however unable to carry out any kind of Earth circling orbital class mission.
Iran later announced on or about March 23, 2012 that the next attempt would be made in 2012 between March and the end of August. Renewed discussion of this second anticipated flight reappeared on May 31, 2012 with a flight expected between June 21 and the end of August 31, 2012. Finally on August 3, 2012 the Iranian Space Agency announced the next attempted flight is planned for mid to late August 2012 after the Islamic month of Ramadan ends which is about August 18-19, 2012.
Ultimately Kavashgar-5 was not successfully flown until around January 28, 2013. The vertical probe sounding rocket launched the 288 kilogram" Pishgam" (pioneer in Farsi) capsule to an altitude of 120 kilometers above the earth in space with its live monkey. The monkey was recovered after a soft landing very much alive completing the major biomedical flight requirements/ The bio Capsule consisted of a nose shroud, the parachute recovery system section as well as the instrument life support package along with the Bio-capsule package containing the monkey.
The Kovoshgar-5 launch vehicle with its 288 kilogram" Pishgam" (pioneer in Farsi) capsule along with the planned flight vvehicles leading to Iran crewed sub orbital flight by 2017-2018.
In the future the Iranian space agency plans to launch the larger 500 kilogram bio capsule on the Shahab-3C/Ghadr class Kovoshgar-X
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