Iran cancels project for sending human into space
High costs of up to $20 billion said to curb Tehran’s hopes for manned flight by 2018
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A ballistic missile is seen in what Iran says is an underground base, in an undisclosed location in the country. The base is said to be buried 500 meters below ground. (Screen capture PressTV)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency reported Wednesday that the country’s space organization is cancelling a project to explore sending humans into space.
Iran sent a monkey into space in January 2013 and it had announced a goal of sending a person by 2018. But the ILNA report quotes Mohammad Homayoun Sadr, deputy head of the space organization, as saying the cost was judged to be prohibitive — an estimated $15 to $20 billion over 15 years.
Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program, generating unease among the United States and other countries concerned about Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
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