Iran launches Pars-1 satellite into space
Iran successfully put into orbit the domestically-built Pars-1 research-sensing satellite on Thursday.
The 134-kilogram satellite was launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far eastern Amur region on Thursday, Press TV reported.
Equipped with three cameras, Pars-1 will scan Iran’s topography from an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
The satellite is designed and manufactured by the Iranian Space Research Center, with the cooperation of knowledge-based companies.
It receives data from ground sources in three spectral ranges of visible, short-wave infrared and thermal infrared.
Speaking on television, Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Issa Zarepour said that the satellite will be added to the country’s sensing satellites, and that its sent images and data will be used for multiple purposes.
Elaborating on the country’s space program, he added that Iran has launched 12 satellites into space over the past 25 months.
“The country’s space industry is rapidly advancing forward … upgrading its place,” Zarepour said.
Largest launch base in West Asia
Additionally in his remarks, the minister said that Iran is constructing West Asia’s largest launch base in the country’s south.
He also noted that the first satellite launch from the base will be carried out in the next Iranian calendar year (beginning on March 20), or at the latest by the end of President Ebrahim Raisi’s term.
He pointed out that Iran decided to build the base as the country’s current launch bases do not have the capability of injecting satellites at the right inclination for a sun-synchronous orbit.
Last month, Iran simultaneously put into orbit the Mahda research satellite, as well as the Keyhan-2 and Hatef-1 nanosatellites using the domestically-made Simorgh (Phoenix) carrier.
In the same month, the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched Soraya satellite into orbit using Qaem 100 satellite carrier. Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has taken giant strides in the civilian space program.
Iran is among the world’s top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites.