News

Iran plans to
construct its second spaceport, Communications and Information Technology
Minister Reza Taqipour said on Sunday.

"At present, there is only one space launch base in the
country... but there are some geographical limitations (in regard to launching
satellites and missiles)," Taqipour told the Mehr News Agency.

Thus, Iran has carried out a feasibility study on the construction of a second
spaceport in order to overcome those limitations, he added.

The current launch site is located in Semnan Province, and in recent years, two
spacecraft have been launched from the center.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Taqipour said there are two telemetry tracking and
control centers in the country that can track and control satellites launched
from Iran, but they belong to other countries.

Iran has made great progress in its space program in recent years.

The Islamic Republic successfully launched a domestically manufactured satellite
carrying a capsule containing a rat, turtles, and worms in February 2010.

The launch of the Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer 3) satellite was Iran's first experiment
in sending living creatures into space.

Iran also plans to send people into space within 10 yea... >>>