Iran to launch Tolou Satellite, Ahmadinejad: Ready to be First Iranian into Space

Local Editor

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi unveiled that the Islamic Republic is planning to send Tolou (Sunrise) satellite into space from a new satellite launch center.

Addressing a group of space technology researchers in Tehran, Vahidi stated that Tolou would be launched on Simorgh satellite carrier from the Imam Khomeini Satellite Launch Center.

In parallel, he confirmed that the final phases of the center's construction are underway.
"Some developed countries have not been able to send satellites into space and only five other countries in the world have had some of the achievements that Iran has made in the field," he said.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he's ready to take the risk of being the first Iranian astronaut sent into space as part of Iran's goal of a manned space flight.
"I'm ready to be the first Iranian to sacrifice myself for our country's scientists," the official Irna news agency quoted him as saying in an address to space scientists in Tehran.

Iran sent a monkey into space last Monday, describing the launch a successful step toward Tehran's plan to send an astronaut into space within the next five to six years. The monkey named "Pishgam," which means pioneer in Farsi, reportedly traveled 120 kilometers (72 miles) and safely returned to Earth.
In 2010, Iran said it launched an Explorer rocket into space carrying a mouse, a turtle and worms.
Iran's space officials say Iran will launch a bigger rocket carrying a larger animal to obtain greater safety assurances before sending a man into space.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org