Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 3 / Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/
Iran has successfully launched its domestically-built Navid-e Elm-o Sanat satellite into orbit by a decree issued by iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, IRNA reported.
The satellite was launched yesterday evening upon an order from president Ahmadinejad via the video-conference.
The satellite launch was timed to the Fajr celebrations and Iran's national day of space technology.
Head of Iran's National Space Agency Hamid Fazeli revealed some details about the launched satellite and its possibilities.
"A 50 kg Navid-e Elm-o Sanat is a microsatellite, with a built-in computer system that can be remotely controlled from Earth," Fazeli said. "The microsatellite is intended for photographing Earth for exact visualization."
Fazeli added that the satellite is able to take pictures on low altitudes of about 250 to 375 kilometers from the earth.
Iran's aerospace officials had previously spoken of the 2012 launch of Zafar (Triumph) - another satellite that weighs 90 kilograms and is scheduled to revolve around the globe in an elliptical orbit of 500 kilometers.
Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite Omid (Hope) in 2009, an endeavor which made it the ninth country having the capability to launch satellites.
Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.
Tehran also plans to launch the country's first manned mission to space by 2019.