Iran to launch 'Fajr' home-made satellite in near future
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Jan 12, IRNA -- Iran's Communications and Information Technology Minister said on Wednesday Iran will launch a home-made satellite called 'Fajr' by the end of current Iranian year on March 20.
Reza Taqipour did not mention the exact date for launching the satellite into orbit.
In February 2009, Iran successfully launched its first domestically-produced satellite, called Omid, into orbit.
Equipped with two frequency bands and eight antennas, Omid has an elliptical orbit with a minimum of 250 kilometers and a maximum of 400.
The lightweight telecommunications satellite is equipped with remote sensing, satellite telemetry and geographic information system technology as well as remote and ground station data processing.
Omid is a research satellite that has been designed for gathering information and testing equipment. Omid is the third Iranian-made satellite to be sent into space.
Russia launched Iran's first satellite in 2005. Three years later, another satellite, which had been jointly designed by Iran, China and Thailand, was also sent into orbit.
To date, only eight countries have launched domestically-made satellites into orbit. Tehran also plans to send its first astronaut into space by 2021.
The Iranian aerospace achievement comes as the country has been subject to sanctions for nearly 30 years. The sanctions have cut Iran's access to many goods, including spare parts for passenger planes and even various medicines.
9060**1412
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30184253
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