Iran will launch its Zafar satellite at the earliest possible opportunity, spokesman for the Iranian Defence Ministry’s Space Group Ahmad Hosseini said.
On Monday, Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said that Tehran hoped to launch the satellite before Saturday.
“The launch will take place … at the earliest possible opportunity”, Hosseini said on Friday, as quoted by the Iranian Defence Ministry.
According to the official, the Simorgh carrier rocket and Zafar satellite have already been prepared for the launch from the Imam Khomeini Space Center in the northern province of Semnan.
In late January, Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said Zafar will be launched before February 11 -the anniversary of victory of the Islamic Revolution.
The minister said two versions of Zafar have been manufactured, so that if the first launch fails, the second satellite will be immediately prepared as a replacement.
Zafar, which weighs 113 kilograms, is going to be sent into an orbit at the altitudes of above 500 km, he noted, adding that it will be utilized for telecommunication, taking images, and picking up space signals.
The Iranian satellite will reportedly have a lifespan of one year and six months, and will capture images and transmit them to stations on earth.
Source: Iranian Agencies
