Iran Launches First Homemade Satellite

Iran today claimed it had broken into the global space race after launching the country's first homemade satellite into orbit in a move that will intensify western fears over its missile capabilities.

State television showed footage of the Omid (Hope) satellite being sent into space in a launch clearly timed to mark the 30th anniversary celebrations of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"In another achievement for Iranian scientists under sanctions, Iran launched its first homemade Omid satellite into orbit," an Iranian TV report said. "It was carried into orbit by Iran-made satellite carrier Safir."

The reports said the Omid was equipped with experimental satellite control devices and power supply systems and was designed for gathering information and testing equipment.

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, hailed the launch as a historic event aimed at "expanding monotheism, peace and justice".

However, it could complicate conciliation efforts by the US president, Barack Obama, by highlighting concerns about its nuclear program, which the west fears is aimed at producing an atomic bomb.

While Iran insists the satellite will enable it to improve phone and internet technology and to track natural disasters, western analysts have warned that it would create the capacity to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are guided using satellite technology.

Today's launch makes Iran the 11th country to put a satellite into orbit since the Soviet Union launched the first in 1957.

It came almost exactly a year after Iran launched the Kavosh-I (Explorer-1), a rocket capable of carrying satellites into space. That event, which also marked the opening of an Iranian space center at an undisclosed desert location, was condemned as "unfortunate" by the US.

It was followed by months of careful rehearsals for today's event, which included the launch of a dummy satellite last August and the firing of a second rocket, the Kavosh-2, into space in November.

Iranian scientists have been working on a space program for at least a decade. Early efforts involved co-operation with Russia. In October 2005, a Russian rocket launched Iran's first satellite, the Sina-1, which carried photographic and telecommunications equipment.