Tehran 2 February _Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Morteza Barari says the country is preparing to launch its new domestically-developed scientific observation satellite in the “coming days”.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_ Barari told AFP on Saturday that the manufacture of the Zafar (Victory) satellite "began three years ago with the participation of 80 Iranian scientists".
The 113-kilogram satellite will be launched by a Simorgh carrier 530 kilometers (329 miles) above the Earth, where it will make 15 orbits daily, said Berari.
The satellite was designed to remain operational for "more than 18 months", he added.
Its "primary mission" will be collecting imagery, said Berari, who said Iran needed such data to study earthquakes, prevent natural disasters and develop its agriculture.
“It will be a new step for our country,” said Berari, noting that Iran had previously managed to place a satellite into orbit 250 kilometers (155 miles) above the Earth.
The Iranian official stressed the “peaceful” nature of the country’s space program, saying, “All our activities in the domain of outer space are transparent