TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday hailed Iran’s achievements in the space industry, saying the rapid progress in the field has proved the failure of Western sanctions and plots to isolate the Islamic Republic.
Addressing the second meeting of the country’s Supreme Space Council here, the president said Iran is one of the few countries that have achieved the technology of launching spacecraft.
“Further progress by the country in the field of placing satellites into the Earth’s orbit would neutralize the enemies’ plots in the area of broadcasting anti-Iranian television and satellite channels,” he stated.
Iran launched its first satellite Omid (Hope) in 2009 and its Rasad (Observation) satellite was sent into orbit in 2011.
In 2012, Iran successfully put its third domestically-made satellite, Navid (Good News), into orbit.
In April 2020, the country announced the successful launch of its first military satellite into orbit. And in March 2022, it blasted its second military satellite into space.
Also in August 2022, Iran launched Khayyam, a high-resolution imaging satellite, into orbit. The satellite was sent into space from the Moscow-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, utilizing a Soyuz 2.1 B rocket.
The president also pointed to the enemy’s efforts to portray Iran’s space achievements as limited to military purposes. Raisi said the space industry is among the country’s assets and also among the propelling industries, whose advancement alongside other industries and sciences, would contribute to the enhancement of the country’s overall strength.
“Space sciences and industries are, today, one of the world’s booming economic and commercial arenas,” he said as he stressed the necessity of “commercialization of this science and industry.”
Hassan Salarieh, head of Iran’s Space Organization, announced the ratification of the country’s strategic 10-Year Space Program by the Supreme Space Council.
In line with the program’s scope,
the Islamic Republic plans to become the regional epicenter of development of space technologies, and provider of space launch services.
The Iranian program also aims to devise and implement space missions in line with its goal of helping civilian, business, and executive organizations benefit from the world’s state-of-the-art technologies.