Iran to put 3 satellites into orbit this year

An Iranian aerospace official says the country plans to launch three indigenously designed and manufactured satellites into orbit during the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2014).

Deputy Head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli said on Saturday that Sharif Sat, Tadbir (Prudence) and Fajr (Dawn) satellites will be lifted into space before the end of the year.

He went on to say that the satellites are ready to be launched into orbit and that they will be lifted into space in due time.

Fajr is a monitoring satellite, which has been developed by Iranian experts at Iran Electronics Industries, known as SAIRAN. It is said to be a reconnaissance satellite powered by solar energy. Iran plans to send up the satellite onboard the upgraded Safir (Ambassador) carrier rocket.

Fajr satellite will be reportedly placed in an elliptical orbit of 400 km in radius, and will remain in space for a year and a half.

Tadbir, developed by students and academics at Iran University of Science and Technology, weighs about 50 kilograms and 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 higher precision in taking photos compared to its predecessor, and its interactive computer system enables 16 users to send and receive information in any geological position. It is equipped with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and can be tracked anytime from a ground station.

Sharif Sat has been also developed by Iranian students and academics from Sharif University of Technology. 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.

Source: presstv.com

B.N