Defense Minister: New Satellite to Launch ‘Soon’
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Wednesday Iran will carry out another satellite launch "soon” and promised "good news” would be announced in the near future about the country’s defense industry.
Hatami’s comments follow an attempt by Iran to put a satellite in orbit last week. The rocket carrying the Payam satellite did not reach the "necessary speed" in the third stage of its launch.
The "technical problem” that led to the incident "is clear for us,” Hatami was quoted by the official Mehr news agency as saying outside a cabinet meeting here.
Iran had said that it planned to send two non-military satellites, Payam and Doosti, into orbit. The Payam, which means "message” in Farsi, was an imagery satellite that Iranian officials said would help with farming and other activities.
Telecommunications Minister Muhammad Javad Azari Jahromi wrote on Twitter last week that "Doosti is waiting for orbit,” without elaborating.
Shortly after the Payam’s launch, President Hassan Rouhani Iran had achieved great success in building satellites and launching them.
"That means we are on the right track. The remaining problems are minor, will be resolved in a few months, and we will soon be ready for a new launch,” he said.
Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space.
Iran usually displays achievements in February during the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the revolution.
The country launched its first locally-built satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. It sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using Kavoshgar (Explorer)-3 carrier.
In February 2015, Iran placed its domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite into orbit, which is capable of taking and transmitting high-quality photos to stations on Earth.
Hatami’s comments follow an attempt by Iran to put a satellite in orbit last week. The rocket carrying the Payam satellite did not reach the "necessary speed" in the third stage of its launch.
The "technical problem” that led to the incident "is clear for us,” Hatami was quoted by the official Mehr news agency as saying outside a cabinet meeting here.
Iran had said that it planned to send two non-military satellites, Payam and Doosti, into orbit. The Payam, which means "message” in Farsi, was an imagery satellite that Iranian officials said would help with farming and other activities.
Telecommunications Minister Muhammad Javad Azari Jahromi wrote on Twitter last week that "Doosti is waiting for orbit,” without elaborating.
Shortly after the Payam’s launch, President Hassan Rouhani Iran had achieved great success in building satellites and launching them.
"That means we are on the right track. The remaining problems are minor, will be resolved in a few months, and we will soon be ready for a new launch,” he said.
Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space.
Iran usually displays achievements in February during the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the revolution.
The country launched its first locally-built satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. It sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using Kavoshgar (Explorer)-3 carrier.
In February 2015, Iran placed its domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite into orbit, which is capable of taking and transmitting high-quality photos to stations on Earth.