Tehran: Iran plans to launch a communications
satellite by late 2011 with no outside help, a top Iranian
official said on Friday, after Italy and Russia declined to put it
into orbit.
The move reflected Tehran's frustration with the two
countries as it tries to push ahead with an ambitious space
programme, which has worried world powers because the same
rocket technology used to launch satellites can also be used
for military purposes.
Israeli media have claimed that the new Iranian
satellite, named Misbah, or "Lantern" in Farsi, is a spy
satellite. Iran says the satellite, which is to be launched
into a low-earth orbit, is to assist in data communication.
Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour touted the
decision to launch the satellite as a show of Iran's progress
in space technology.
"Our capability to launch a satellite has increased ...
we hope to launch Mesbah satellite-2 ourselves" by the end of
2011, Taqipour said, according to the semi-official Fars news
agency. Earlier this month, the head of Iran's Aero Space
Industries, Gen Mahdi Farahi, announced Tehran would use Italy
to launch Mesbah after waiting for years in vain for Russia to
do the job. But Italy's Carlo Gavazzi Space company promptly
denied the report, saying it does not have the capabilities to
put Misbah in orbit.
Iran launched a domestically made satellite -- called
Omid, or "Hope" in Farsi -- using an Iranian rocket for the
first time in February. In 2005, its first satellite was
launched by Russia, which has been a partner in transferring
space technology to Iran along with North Korea and China.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 20, 2009, 21:14