Faji satellite establishes first contact with earth

Tehran, Feb 2, IRNA - Manager of Electronic Industries Space Projects Mehdi Sarvi on Monday declared that Fajr satellite has established its contact with ground station, hours after it was launched and put into the orbit. All should wait to witness the home-made satellite accomplish its mission successfully in coming days, he said. The nation celebrates a ten-day dawn period every year beginning from the date the Founder of the Islamic Republic the Late Imam Khomeini returned home from exile in Paris till the victory of the Revolution over the Pahlavi regime. One day ahead of Space Technology Day in the country, Iranian experts managed to launch the satellite and place it in the orbit to defend the country's title as the first Islamic state to do such a big job. During the ceremony, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said the project was accomplished only thanks to the sincere endeavors of the Iranian scientists. Developed by indigenous technology and know-how, he noted, the satellite which is called 'Fajr' indicated the high capabilities of Iran's satellite-carriers. He further described the project as a national one designed and built on global-level scale in terms of designing and construction. The minister referred to the chance to develop and design a new generation of satellite-carriers and also enter the world market of space services, using domestic potential and planning complicated space missions as some of the achievements of the project. He said other big achievements of his ministry will be announced soon.