Iran sees second satellite in orbit in two years
TEHRAN, April 10 (Reuters) - Iran hopes to put a second satellite into orbit in two years, a senior telecommunications official told the official IRNA news agency on Monday.
Iran launched its Sina-1 satellite from a Russian rocket in October and said it would help the Islamic Republic's scientists better understand natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.
"We reached an agreement with Iran's Aerospace Organisation to produce Iran's second satellite called Pars (Sina-2)," said Ebrahim Mahmoudzadeh, director of Sa Iran, a telecommunications firm affiliated to the Defence Ministry.
"The contract will be signed next month and it will probably be launched after two years," he added.
Sa Iran declined to give Reuters a description of the Pars satellite and it was unclear what it was designed for.
Sina-1's launch sparked controversy in some Western media that suspected it could be used for spying. But technical experts said its camera probably lacked sufficient power to be effective for espionage.
Most international interest in Iran's satellite programme focuses on the Mesbah (lantern) satellite which Iran intends to launch on a domestically made rocket.
Military analysts are closely watching Iran's domestic launch plans as satellite-launch technology is traditionally intimately linked to developments in ballistic weapons.
Iran launched its Sina-1 satellite from a Russian rocket in October and said it would help the Islamic Republic's scientists better understand natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.
"We reached an agreement with Iran's Aerospace Organisation to produce Iran's second satellite called Pars (Sina-2)," said Ebrahim Mahmoudzadeh, director of Sa Iran, a telecommunications firm affiliated to the Defence Ministry.
"The contract will be signed next month and it will probably be launched after two years," he added.
Sa Iran declined to give Reuters a description of the Pars satellite and it was unclear what it was designed for.
Sina-1's launch sparked controversy in some Western media that suspected it could be used for spying. But technical experts said its camera probably lacked sufficient power to be effective for espionage.
Most international interest in Iran's satellite programme focuses on the Mesbah (lantern) satellite which Iran intends to launch on a domestically made rocket.
Military analysts are closely watching Iran's domestic launch plans as satellite-launch technology is traditionally intimately linked to developments in ballistic weapons.
posted by Marko at 4/10/2006 08:00:00 AM
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