Ahmadinejad Launches Several Home Built Satellites

Local Editor

Iran plans to launch several home-built satellites by March 2012, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday after the unveiling of four new prototypes.
The president's remarks coincide with celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution that falls on February 11.

Iran unveiled on Monday what it said were prototypes of four new home-built satellites -- Rasad (Observation), Fajr (Dawn), Zafar (Victory) and Amir Kabir-1 and also engines of a Safir-B1 (Ambassador-B1) rocket, reports said.

"I think from the end of this (Iranian) year (to March 20) and through the next year, we will see many launches" of domestically-built satellites, Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony in Tehran.

Fajr, which was unveiled on Monday, is a reconnaissance satellite constructed by the defense ministry, while Amir Kabir-1, the details of which were unavailable, is built by Tehran's Amir Kabir University.