Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 3
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran is negotiating with Italy on returning its satellite, Mesbah which is seized there due to international sanctions, Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iranian Space Agency (ISA), said.
The satellite has been seized in Italy for last three years, Bahrami said, adding that his organization in coordination with foreign ministry is negotiating with Italy on the issue.
Mesbah is one of the first satellites manufactured by Iran in cooperation with Italy, the official said, Iran's Mehr news agency reported Oct. 3.
Once the satellite is returned to Iran, Tehran will hold talks with countries which are able to launch satellites such as India and Russia to send it into orbit, Bahrami noted.
Mesbah cost about $4 million to be built. The satellite was transferred to Italy for further tests and experiments. But, Italy refused to hand over the satellite to Iran under the pretext of UN Security Council resolutions slapped against the Islamic Republic.
Italy agreed to assist Iran in building and launching Mesbah satellite in February 2003.
Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the Italian company, Carlo Gavazzi Space, were jointly involved in the project.
Mesbah satellite weighs 75 kilograms and is designed to circle the Earth 14 times a day. The satellite was never launched as both Russia and Italy refused to cooperate with Iran on space projects.
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