Iran says launches satellite carrier into space
Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008
15:15GMT—11:15AM/EST
IRAN – SPACE – SATELLITE
Washington, 17 August (IranVNC)—Iran today launched a rocket capable of carrying a satellite into space, Iranian media report.
Initial reports said that the carrier, named Safir [Envoy], was launched today carrying the satellite, named Omid [Hope]. But officials later said that only the rocket was launched.
“The Safir rocket was successfully launched. All its systems… are Iranian made,” AFP quoted Reza Taqipour, the head of Iran’s space agency, as saying in an interview on state television.
Taqipour added that a “test satellite was put into orbit,” and said: “We have paved the way for placing a satellite in space in the future.”
Other reports, including those quoting Iran’s Ministry of Defense, have referred to the rocket as “Safir-e Omid” [Envoy of Hope].
Pictures posted on the website of the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network [IRINN], show the rocket with an Iranian flag and the words “Safir Omid IRILV [Islamic Republic of Iran Launch Vehicle]” written in English.
According to a statement from Iran’s armed forces, quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency, the test took place with the aim of “ratifying the operation of the satellite-carrier, the long-distance data-processing system, telemetry stations, long-distance control and determining the position of the satellite.”
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had announced last week that Tehran would soon launch an “entirely Iranian-made” satellite, was present at the launch and read the countdown, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
In February, Tehran test-fired the rocket “Kavosh-gar-1” [Explorer-1], designed to carry a satellite.
The test drew condemnations from Washington, which is leading international efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program, which it suspects is aimed at building a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge.
For his part, Ahmadinejad has hailed the satellite launch as a source of pride for Iran, and credited UN-imposed sanctions on Iran for advances in Iranian-made technology.
Speaking to a group of Iranians living in Turkey, he said: “From the time that they sanctioned us until today, we have been able to transform ourselves into a nuclear power. We were not hurt by the sanctions,” ISNA reported.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on the Islamic Republic and is considering a fourth one.
Sources: Fars News Agency in Persian, ISNA in Persian, IRINN in Persian, AFP
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