Iran Sends New Home-Made Satellite into Orbit

(FNA)- Iran sent its fourth home-made satellite, Fajr (Dawn), into orbit on Monday.

The satellite, completely built by Iranian scientists, was launched on the second day of the national ceremonies marking the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979).

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan felicitated the Iranian government and nation on the successful launch and orbiting of the satellite, but did not provide any further details.

The fully home-grown satellite which has been built by experts at the defense ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization proves the Islamic Republic of Iran's high capabilities to launch satellites into orbit, General Dehqan said.

"It is also another indicator of the country's flourishing scientific growth in the state-of-the-art technologies," he added.

Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari announced on Sunday the country's plans to orbit a new home-made satellite.

"We will launch a satellite this week," Sattari said in Tehran without revealing any further detail or the exact launch date.

In October, Deputy Head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli announced that Tehran was preparing to orbit three new home-made satellites, called Zafar (Triumph), Tolou (Sunrise) and Pars, from more powerful launchers and on the back of bigger carriers in the near future.

"Launching the under-construction satellites, including Sharifsat and Nahid, are also among the short-term plans of the ISA," he added.

Also, Iranian Vice-President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari told reporters in the same month that Iran hoped that its Sharifsat satellite would be sent into orbit this year.

Fazeli had announced in May that Iran planned to launch three home-made monitoring satellites into orbit in the next Iranian calendar year (March 2015-March 2016).

"Zafar, Tolou and AUT Sat will be sent into space onboard the Simorq satellite carrier," he said.

Fazeli noted that the satellites would transmit images of the Earth's surface to ground stations.

Zafar will be sent into a geostationary orbit, which is a circular orbit around 36,000 kilometers (22,320 miles) above the Earth's equator.

The satellite will reportedly have a lifespan of one year and six months, and will capture images and transmit them to stations on earth.

Tolou satellite will also carry out remote sensing and topography missions, and will travel in an orbit of 500 kilometers above from the Earth’s equator.