Tehran: Iran hailed the successful launch of a home-built satellite on Wednesday amid Western concerns it is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons.
The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket was carrying an “experimental capsule”, state-owned Al-Alam television reported.
State television’s website said it was carrying “live animals” — a rat, turtles and worms, the first such experiment by Iran in space technology.
“The capsule has the ability to send back empirical data,” the website said.
State television showed footage of the rocket being fired from a desert launchpad leaving behind a thick plume of smoke.
A few minutes later the grainy images showed the capsule detaching from the rocket and spinning in orbit.
State television also carried pictures of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiling another home-built rocket for satellite launches dubbed the Simorgh (Phoenix).
The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue with the words “Satellite Carrier Simorgh,” is equipped to carry a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) satellite 500 kilometres (310 miles) into orbit, the television report said.
The 27-metre (90 foot) tall multi-stage rocket weighs 85 tonnes and its liquid fuel propulsion system has a thrust of up to 100 tonnes, the report added.
Ahmadinejad hailed the progress Iran was making in its space programme.
“It is a great job that living organisms can be sent into space, we do experiments on them and they return to earth,” the Iranian president said.
“We are going to send a satellite 500 kilometres (310 miles) up. The next steps are 700 and 1,000 kilometres. Everyone knows that reaching the 1,000 kilometre orbit allows you to reach all orbits.”
Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi revealed the details of three new satellite prototypes — the Toloo (Dawn), Navid (Good News), and Mesbah-2 (Lantern).
“Toloo is a satellite used for remote survey and weighs 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds). It is planned to be placed in 500 kilometre (310 mile) orbit for three years,” Vahidi said.
“The Simorgh (Phoenix) rocket is able to place a satellite weighing 100 kilos in 500 kilometre orbit,” Vahidi said, adding that a further refinement of the same design would allow satellites to placed in 1,000 kilometre orbit.
The satellite launch and the unveiling of the new prototypes came as Iran marked “Space Technology Day” as part of celebrations for the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
Iran launched its first home-built satellite, the Omid (Hope), in February last year to coincide with the 30th anniversary.
In 2008, Iran fired two rockets into space — the Kavoshgar in February and the Kavoshgar 2 in November — but neither was carrying any payload.
Iran said the Kavoshgar reached an altitude of 200 kilometres (125 miles) before falling back to earth.
Iran’s space programme has sent alarm bells ringing in the international community, which has voiced concern over Iran’s development of technology that could be used for military purposes.
The West suspects Iran of secretly trying to build an atomic bomb and fears the technology used to launch space rockets could be diverted into developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Tehran denies having military goals for its space programme or its nuclear drive.
