Iran: Iran will launch an advanced satellite, Zafar, in 2012. It aims to take high resolution wall maps and aerial photos of locations around the globe as seen from space, according to Hossein Bolandi, Head of Satellite Technical Support Department at Tehran’s University of Science and Technology.
Bolandi said that Zafar satellite weighs 90 kilograms and will be placed in elliptical orbit of 500 kilometres in radius. The satellite will have a lifespan of one year and six months and will capture images with a resolution of 80 meters.
Bolandi said the control system of Zafar satellite is three time more accurate than that of Navid (Herald) satellite. Navid is a domestically-manufactured 50 kilogram satellite, which can take pictures in low altitudes of about 250 to 375 kilometres from earth. President of the Science and Technology University Mohammad-Saeid Jabalameli recently announced the launch of the Navid satellite, a research satellite.
According to Jabalameli, Navid has been successfully tested and will be delivered to the launch centre to be put into orbit in the next three to four months.
Source: PressTV
