MOSCOW (AP) – A Russian rocket yesterday successfully launched an Iranian satellite into orbit.
The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled yesterday from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.
About nine minutes after the launch, it placed the Iranian satellite called Khayyam into orbit. It’s named after Omar Khayyam, a Persian scientist who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Iran has said the satellite fitted with high-resolution camera will be used for environmental monitoring and will remain fully under its control.
Tehran said no other country will have access to information it gathers and it would be used for civilian purposes only.
Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov hailed the launch as an “important landmark” in cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.
Iranian state television aired footage of the launch live, noting that the country’s telecommunications minister attended the liftoff in Kazakhstan.
Tehran said the satellite will help improve productivity in the agriculture sector, survey water resources, manage natural disasters, confront deforestation and monitor border areas.
Citing Iran’s civilian space agency, state television said the satellite would provide high-resolution surveillance images with a one-meter-per-pixel definition. Western civilian satellites offer around half-a-metre per pixel, while United States (US) spy satellites are believed to have even-greater definition.
