Iran to put two satellites into orbit by yearend

An Iranian aerospace official says the country plans to launch two indigenously designed and manufactured satellites into orbit by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).

Deputy head of Iran Space Agency (ISA), Hamid Fazeli, said on Wednesday that Sharif Sat and Tadbir (Prudence) satellites will be lifted into space by the end of the year.

He added that Sharif Sat has been developed by Iranian students and academics from Sharif University of Technology, while Tadbir satellite has been developed at Iran University of Science and Technology.

The senior Iranian aerospace official said the two indigenous satellites have already been delivered to ISA, noting that compatibility tests are being carried out on both satellites in order to prepare them for lift-off.

Sharif Sat reportedly weighs less than 50 kilograms and will be launched onboard the indigenous Safir B-1 carrier. It is planned to be placed into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude between 350 kilometers (217 miles) and 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

The satellite will capture images with a high degree of accuracy of less than 10 meters and then transmit them to stations on earth.

Tadbir is an upgraded version of the Navid-e Elm-o Sanat (Harbinger of Science and Industry) satellite, which was put into space earlier.

The satellite has Global Positioning System (GPS) as well as higher precision in taking photos in comparison to its predecessor.

Fazeli further noted that another indigenous satellite named Aat Sat is now being developed by Iranian scientists at Amir Kabir University of Technology.

He said the monitoring and telecommunications satellite, which is expected to have a lifespan of two years, will be sent into the space onboard Simorgh satellite carrier.

Iran launched its first indigenous satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. The country also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into the space in February 2010, using the indigenous Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.

The country is one of the 24 founding members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.