Iranian rocket can carry low-orbit satellite
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Iran said on Monday a home-built rocket sent into space in a move that triggered US concern over its possible military applications will be able to take a satellite into low orbit around the earth.Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar also vowed that Iran will soon put its own satellite into orbit, after a dummy was sent into space in Sunday's rocket launch.
The development was likely to add to international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, which Western nations fear could be a cover for ambitions to build the atomic bomb although Tehran insists its aims are peaceful.
State television said the Safir (Ambassador) rocket is capable of putting a "light satellite into low earth orbit" between 250 and 500 kilometres (150 and 300 miles) above the earth.
It showed footage of the rocket launch, saying that the Safir is about 22 metres (72 feet) long, with a diameter of 1.25 metres (a little over four feet) and weighing more than 26 tonnes.
