TEHRAN, Jan. 30 (MNA) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday inaugurated a laboratory center for testing space structures and systems.

The center is considered as the largest of its kind in the Middle East.
The laboratory was inaugurated ahead of the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations (February 1-10) which marks the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ahmadinejad said the country’s achievements in space technology have modified the world’s view of Iranian scientists’ capabilities.
The world is “impressed” by Iran’s space achievements, he stated.
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi also announced on Sunday that Iran will showcase a new range of rockets and satellites during the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations.
---New satellites, rockets to be displayed in early Feb.
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi also said new range of rockets and satellites will be showcased during the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations.
Safir 1-B (Messenger 1-B) and Kavoshgar 4 (Explorer 4) rockets and Rasad (observation) and Fajr (Dawn) satellites will be unveiled during the 10-day celebrations, Vahidi stated on Sunday.
He went on to say the Safir 1-B rocket is capable of carrying a satellite weighing 50 kilos into an elliptical orbit of 300 to 450 kilometers.
In February 2009, Iran sent the Safir 2 rocket into space which carried the country’s first domestically manufactured satellite, called Omid (Hope).
In February 2010, Iran launched a capsule carrying live turtles, rats and worms aboard a Kavoshgar 3 rocket in what was its first experiment to send living creatures into space