TEHRAN: Iran plans to send its first astronaut into space by 2018.

According to Iranian Mehr News Agency (MNA), a senior official in the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) said the flight of two trained Iranian astronauts has been slated for between 2016 and 2018.

Iran will first attempt to send the astronauts into sub-orbital space, up to a distance of 200 kilometers (125 miles), for about 30 minutes, Ebrahimi says.

The official had previously announced a general notice due to select the first Iranian astronaut to be sent to space. (QNA)