Iran said Friday it launched a satellite into space carried by a homemade rocket.
The launch, which had been announced months ago, comes at the start of a series of festivities celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution on Feb. 11. It also comes at a time of high tensions between Iran and the United States and Israel, with the latter pushing for strikes against IranÂ’s nuclear program.
The state-run TV reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched the rocket carrying the Navid Elm o Sanat (“Good message of science and industry”) satellite. According to the TV, the satellite carries camera and telecommunication devices and is completely designed and produced in the Islamic republic.
The microsatellite, which weighs 110 pounds, will orbit the earth at an altitude of up to 234 miles, the Associated Press reported, citing the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iranian officials announced in November that they planned to launch three satellites, including Navid, in the early weeks of 2012. The countryÂ’s space agency is also planning to set up a launch site, together with the ministry of defence, in the southeastern region of the country.
Iran’s space program is controversial, as western nation’s fear the rockets can be used for regional attacks and — if the country were to produce a nuclear weapon — be fitted with a nuclear warhead. Iran had repeatedly stated that its missile program is for defensive purposes only. |