Iran follows Omid success with plans for crews

After only twenty-three eccentric orbits of Omid, Iran's first domestically built and launched satellite, the Iranian Aerospace Agency announced plans Thursday to put a crew into space by 2021.

According to Iranian Press TV - "The program's preliminary needs, assessments and feasibility studies have been carried out," Head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization, Reza Taqipour announced on Wednesday.

"China and India managed to send an astronaut to space in a 15 year program. We see ourselves taking the same path, but we hope to reach that goal in a shorter period," he added.

According to Taqipour, the Aerospace Organization had drawn up a comprehensive plan for the project that clarifies the role, which various academic and research institutions must play to carry out a successful space mission by 2021.

On February 3, Iran entered a new stage of its space program by carrying out its first ever entirely domestic satellite launch and sending the national satellite Omid (Hope) into orbit. The research satellite was sent to orbit with the help of a Safir 2 rocket.

Omid is a lightweight telecommunications satellite that has been designed for gathering information and testing equipment.

"After orbiting for one to three months, Omid will return to earth, with data that will help Iranian experts send an operational satellite into space."

Iran says it launched satellite into space

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it had launched its first domestically made satellite into space, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Iran's Omid (hope) satellite was launched on Sunday using the Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket," IRNA said, quoting a statement from Iran's armed forces.

Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions, caused international concern in February by testing the rocket designed to carry the satellite.

The West accuses Iran of trying to obtain nuclear arms under cover of a civilian program. Tehran insists it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad read out the launch countdown, said an official.

"The president attended Iran's Space Centre and ordered the launch ... He congratulated the Iranian nation on the great achievement," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham as saying.

The technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons, but Iran says it has no plans to do so.

Iran, which refuses to recognize Israel, has missiles that can reach 2,500 km (1,250 miles), meaning it could hit Israel and U.S. military bases in the Gulf.