Iran tests rocket, plans to launch satellite

Iran tests rocket, plans to launch satellite: TV
Mon Feb 4, 2008 3:19am EST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran launched a rocket on Monday designed to send its first homemade research satellite into orbit in the next year, state television said, a move likely to add to Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear plans.

The ability to put satellites into orbit could indicate an advance in the Islamic Republic's missile technology, though official media gave few details.

State television reported the rocket had blasted off but did not show the launch. It had earlier broadcast footage of a rocket on a launch pad in desert terrain.

It said the satellite, called Omid (Hope), would be launched in the next Iranian year, which ends in March 2009.

"We need to have an active and influential presence in space," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised ceremony before the launch.

"Iran took its first step (to establish a presence in space) very strongly, precisely and wisely," he said. "Building and launching a satellite is a very important achievement."

Ahmadinejad and other senior Iranian officials were shown in an auditorium but state television did not say where it was.

Iran often announces advances in its missile technology. In November it said it had built a new missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), adding to the scope of its conventional arsenal.

Western experts say Iran rarely gives enough details to determine how significant its technology advances are. They say much Iranian technology is based on modifications to equipment supplied by others, including China and North Korea.

Western capitals fear Iran is trying to master technology so it can build nuclear weapons. Iran insists its plans are peaceful and that it wants to generate electricity from nuclear power plants.

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Iranians inaugurate space project
Iran has launched a research rocket to inaugurate the Islamic Republic's first home-built space centre, state television reported.

Pictures were broadcast of a rocket on a launch pad, but there was no footage of it blasting off.

The test was for Iran's first low-orbit research satellite, which is planned for launch in March next year.

Correspondents say advances in Iran's missile technology are likely to alarm Tehran's foes among Western powers.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says it is a highly symbolic moment for the launch, on the 29th anniversary of the Iranian revolution and there has been much patriotic music on TV as it reported the story.

However, the fact that no launch footage was shown may mean it has been delayed.

'Important achievement'

The space centre, at an unidentified desert location, includes an underground control station and launch pad for the satellite which will be named Omid (Hope).

"We need to have an active and influential presence in space," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised ceremony before the launch.

"Iran took its first step very strongly, precisely and wisely," he said. "Building and launching a satellite is a very important achievement."

In February 2007, Iran said it launched a rocket capable of reaching space before it made a parachute-assisted descent to Earth.

In October 2005, a Russian rocket launched Iran's first satellite, the Sina-1, which carried photographic and telecommunications equipment.

Western countries fear Iran wants to produce a nuclear weapons, although Tehran denies this, insisting its uranium-enrichment programme is solely to generate electricity.

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