Reza Rousta Azad said on Sunday that the construction of the satellite, which weighs less than 50 kilograms and will be launched on board the indigenous Safir B-1 carrier, has been completed, and it is expected that the satellite would be soon launched in the event of favorable weather conditions.
He added that Sharif Sat will be placed into a Low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude between 350 kilometers (217 miles) and 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the Earth's surface.
Rousta Azad noted that the satellite will capture images with an accuracy of less than 10 meters, and then codify and transmit them to stations on Earth. He said Sharif Sat could be placed in higher orbit in case it is launched on board a more powerful carrier.
Rousta Azad went on to say that the Iranian university students and academics at Sharif University of Technology are currently developing indigenous carriers that can send other satellites into geostationary orbits, around 36,000 kilometers (22,320 miles) above the Earth's equator.
He stressed that such home-made satellite carriers will be operational within the next four or five years. Iran launched its first indigenous satellite, Omid (Hope), in 2009. The country also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into the space in February 2010, using the indigenous Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.
Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.
Source: Press TV
MNA
END