Iran to launch first domestic satellite by March

June 4th, 2009 Analyst says new North Korean missile pad is readyWASHINGTON — Fresh commercial satellite images show that North Korea's sophisticated new missile base on its west coast — designed for multiple test flights in a short time — is ready for use, according to an independent analyst. Photographic images show the launch tower and what appears to be construction materials on the launch pad, Tim Brown, a senior fellow with GlobalSecurity.org, said Thursday.

April 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Friday attacked the Manmohan Singh government for 'forging a deep security and military collaboration with Israel' and raised questions about the launching of Israeli spy satellites by India. The CPI-M, which fiercely opposed the India-US nuclear deal, accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of 'obfuscating' facts about the launch of Israeli satellites and alleged this collaboration was part of the 'overall India-Israel-US axis'.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Somnath Chatterjee, the speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Monday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of the RISAT-2 spy satellite and an educational satellite. 'The country is proud of ISRO scientists for this remarkable achievement, which will provide a boost to India's capabilities in a number of areas, including disaster management and in better management of cyclones, floods, agriculture-related activities,' Chatterjee said in his congratulatory message.

April 20th, 2009 CHENNAI - Out of the 15 satellite launch missions it has flown since 1993, Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has delivered successful results except for once. The failure happened on its first developmental flight Sep 20, 1993.

April 16th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's defence surveillance capabilities will get a quantum boost Monday with the launch of a sophisticated spy satellite that can see through fog and clouds, a facility that has been hitherto unavailable. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) workhorse polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) that will soar aloft from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, 80 km from here, with the radar imaging satellite (RISAT), will also put into orbit the Anusat, a micro educational satellite built by Anna University.

April 15th, 2009 BEIJING - China successfully launched its second navigation satellite Wednesday. The carrier rocket, Long March 3C, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

April 5th, 2009 PYONGYANG - North Korea Sunday successfully launched a long-range rocket mounted with a communications satellite, the official KCNA news agency said. The 'Kwangmyongsong-2' satellite was sent into the orbit at 11.29.02 a.m.

February 27th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea has begun to test radar and other equipment in preparation for launching what it claims to be a satellite, South Korean media reports said Friday. Increased activity was reported from the Musudan-ri missile launch site in the north-east of the communist state as North Korea moves closer to what South Korea claims is an attempt to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

February 24th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea said Tuesday that it was preparing to launch a satellite on a domestically produced rocket after weeks of intelligence reports that said it was instead readying a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. A date for the launch was not given in the statement by the Korea Space Technology Committee published by the official Korean Central News Agency.

February 11th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran would send its first man into space on board its own spacecraft by 2021, the head of Iran's Aerospace Agency announced Thursday. 'Scientific research has already begun in Iran,' Reza Tagipur was quoted by Iranian media as saying.

February 11th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran has kicked off a 12-year project to send an astronaut into space, just days after putting its first home-built satellite into orbit, Press TV reported Thursday. 'The programme's preliminary needs, assessments and feasibility studies have been carried out,' said Reza Taqipour, the head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization.

February 7th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran plans to send satellites in medium and high Earth orbits in two or three years, Iran's ISNA news agency reported quoting a senior official. On Feb 3, the country launched Omid light satellite in low Earth orbit, using the Safir 2 (messenger) rocket.

February 3rd, 2009 PRETORIA - South Africa will launch its second satellite from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space station March 25 to monitor disasters like floods, oil spills and wild fires in the country. The SumbandilaSat, an 80 kg low-orbit satellite, would rotate the earth at a distance of 500 km, the country's science and technology department has said.

February 3rd, 2009 TEHRAN - Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has complimented Iranian scientists for their success in sending the first domestically-produced satellite into orbit, IRNA reported. In a message Tuesday in response to a letter from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed appreciation for the efforts of Iranian officials and scientists 'for their efforts which made such a praiseworthy move possible'.

February 2nd, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran carried into orbit its first domestically-produced satellite Tuesday, the country's national TV said. The research satellite named Omid (Hope), which contains communications and digital equipment, was carried into orbit by a home-made launch vehicle, Safir (Messenger).