Iran prepares to launch 3 homemade satellites

PanARMENIAN.Net - Senior Iranian officials announced that the country plans to orbit three new domestically-manufactured satellites on the back of three Iran-made carriers in the near future.

"The satellites named Fajr (Dawn), Navid (Promise) and Tolou (Sunrise) will be launched during the current Iranian year (ending on March 19)," Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi told a gathering on Iran's satellite carrier systems.

"Fajr satellite would be carried by Safir-e Fajr carrier and Tolou by Simorgh (Phoenix) booster. Our country would take the first step in manufacturing the new generations of Iranian carriers by using Simorgh rocket," he added.

The minister did not give details about the function of the satellites, Fars News Agency reported.

Navid is a research satellite, which was designed by scientists at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran. It weighs 50 kilograms and can take pictures at low altitudes of about 250 kilometers to 375 kilometers from the Earth.

Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite Omid ( Hope) in 2009 and sent small animals into space in 2010. Tehran plans to send a man into space by 2020.