Iran launches 'Khayyam' satellite into orbit
Iranian “Khayyam” satellite has been launched into orbit from the Moscow-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan marking strategic aerospace cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
The Khayyam satellite was sent into orbit on Tuesday by a Soyuz-2.1b rocket, equipped with a Fregat upper stage, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in neighbouring Kazakhstan.
Imagery from Khayyam will be used to monitor Iran’s borders and improve the country’s capabilities in management and planning in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, environment, mining, and natural disasters.
In a Sunday statement, the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) rejected recent reports that claimed Moscow might maintain control of the satellite temporality to use it in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The ISA statement dispelled the unfounded suspicions and said that the Khayyam satellite will be fully controlled by Iranian experts and technicians based inside Iran from the very beginning of its launch.
It added that it is impossible for any countries or entities to access the satellite other than Iran because it is equipped with encrypted algorithms designed by ISA’s researchers.
Iran has taken giant strides in the field of science of technology in recent years, despite crippling US sanctions, which is evident from its satellite launches.
