Iran Payam satellite in orbit five minutes: Professor

On January 16, Iran reported that it has managed to successfully send Payam (Message) satellite into space.

Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Motamedi said launch of Payam is a big success, although it failed to practically to be placed into orbit.

Despite its failure in staying in orbit, Payam satellite was very close to its target, he said, adding that the scientific projects may sometimes be unsuccessful at the start of operation.

Elaborating on launch of Payam, Motamedi said it sent necessary terrestrial information which shows it did well.

About five minutes after being launched, Payam satellite crashed into the Indian Ocean, said the chancellor, adding it just plummeted into water and did not blow up.

In a related development, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on January 14 that Payam is the first operational satellite made by the Iranian experts and scientists, and will be used for processing the terrestrial data on a daily basis.