Iran To Launch New Home-Made Satellite

 Iranian satellite Zafar

TEHRAN, Jan 23 (NNN-TASNIM) – New Iranian satellite, Zafar, will be sent into orbit in a few weeks, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, announced on Wednesday.

Jahromi said, Zafar will be launched before Feb 11.

Two versions of Zafar have been manufactured, so that if the first launch fails, the second satellite will be immediately prepared as a replacement, he was quoted as saying.

The new satellite will be sent into space with the Iranian Simorgh satellite carrier, he added.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Zafar is a 90-kg remote-sensing satellite, equipped with colour cameras and can be used for surveying oil reserves, mines, jungles and natural disasters.

The satellite is designed for an 18-month orbiting at an altitude of 530 km.