Iran sole regional country with its own satellite launchers: ISA official
Tehran (Basirat) :An official at the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) says the Islamic Republic is the sole country in the region actively producing satellite launchers as Tehran is getting ready to put two new satellites into orbit.
Speaking in a televised interview with the Iranian television, which was
published on Monday, Seyyed Hossein Mousavi, an advisor to head of the ISA said
the country will soon put Payam (Message) and Doosti (Friendship) satellites
into orbit to prove its groundbreaking progress in the field of satellite
technology and science.
"It is fortunate to say that we are in very good conditions in terms of
developing satellite technology and launch among regional countries, and due to
sanctions imposed on our country, our goal is to become self-sufficient in this
field,” he said.
The official added that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the sole regional
country active in the field of manufacturing satellite launchers in the region,
seconded only by the Zionist regime in this regard.
He noted that Payam satellite, which is a product of researchers at Amir Kabir
University of Technology, is capable of taking high-resolution images and will
last in orbit for a period of two years.
Mousavi stated that the goal of producing Doosti satellite was mostly to promote
satellite technology and knowledge in the country and transfer that technology
to Iran.
Meanwhile, the official in charge of developing Payam satellite has
high-precision cameras capable of taking photos with a precision of 40 meters,
which can be then used for agricultural development purposes, studying
vegetation and forests, silviculture and other peaceful goals.
The ISA’s deputy director for development of space services, Ali Sadeqi Naeini,
said in an interview also published on Monday that the Iranian satellites will
be put into an orbit 500 km above the Earth and are expected to last for two
years.
He said the technology used to make the two satellites was totally home-grown,
adding, "No foreign country has provided us with space technology and this is
purely domestic know-how.”
The official noted that in terms of satellite design and manufacture technology,
Iran currently ranks the first in the region and there are a high number of
prominent Iranian specialists both within and without the country, who are
internationally known for their expertise in the field of astronomy and space
since.
Addressing a large crowd of people during his visit to Gonbad-e Kavous in the
northern Iranian Golestan Province earlier on Monday, President Hassan Rouhani
lauded Iran’s top rank in terms of its scientific standing, particularly in
genetics, in the Middle East region.
He pointed out that the country will be placing two satellites into orbit in the
coming days.
Source:PressTv