enabled to transfer electronic data and live footage back to Earth. The Iranian Aerospace Organization (IAO) showed live video transmission of mini-environmental lab to enable further studies on the biological capsule. This was the first biological payload launched by Iran. Iran is the sixth country to send animals in space. On 15 March 2011, the ISA launched the Kavoshgar-4 (Explorer-4) rocket carrying a test capsule designed to carry a monkey but without living creatures on board. Kavoshgar-5 (Explorer-5) carrying a live monkey was launched for a 20-minute sub-orbital flight in September 2011, however the mission failed. On 3 October 2011, Iran indefinitely postponed further plans while scientists reviewed readiness for future missions. In May 2012, Iran announced that it would send more living creatures into the space by the summer. Following the last failed attempt, ISA was seeking to successfully send a monkey into space by 2013. ISA head Hamid Fazeli told the Iranian news agency Mehr that the designated monkeys are currently in quarantine. On 29 January 2013, Iranian state media announced that a monkey was sent into space and returned safely aboard the Pishgam capsule, after having reached a height of 120 km. This was the first time that Iran has sent a primate into space, 54 years after the first monkeys Able and Baker returned safely. No details on the timing or location of the launch were given. On 14 December 2013, Iran launched a second monkey, named Fargam, on a suborbital flight. The monkey is reported to have been retrieved successfully and safe, after the short 15-minute flight. Satellites Iran is the 9th country to put a domestically built satellite into orbit using its own launcher. Launched satellites On 28 October 2005, a Kosmos-3M booster rocket launched Sina-1. The joint Iranian Russian Sina-1 project cost US$15 million, and the launch made Iran the 43rd country to possess its own satellite. Environment 1, a joint research satellite of Iran, China and Thailand was launched on a Chinese Long March 2C carrier rocket on 6 September 2008, aimed at boosting cooperation on natural disasters such as flooding, drought, typhoon, landslide and earthquake. The twin Earth observation satellites of eight planned were launched from Taiyuan SLC. The satellites will work as a constellation with six other satellites yet to be launched. Its observational footprint is 720 km. With a lifespan of more than three years, they have state-of-the-art imaging