TEHRAN – The Payam Satellite, manufactured by Amirkabir University of Technology, will launch into orbit in the near future, the information and communication technology minister announced, Fars reported on Tuesday.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, who visited the space center at Iran University of Science and Technology, said the Payam Satellite will be completed and delivered by Friday. 

He praised the aerospace activities of the university saying that the Zafar Satellite, which is manufactured by the experts at the university, should be completed as soon as possible.

The Zafar Satellite has double GPS accuracy in comparison with other Iranian satellite, which is crucial for the country, he said.

He called the satellite-based crop monitoring as one of the most important services, which would be very beneficial for the farmers.

The image resolution of the Payam Satellite is 45 meters and can stay in orbit for three years while the Zafar has 22.5 meters image resolution, he said.

Two days ago, the head of the Iranian Space Agency Morteza Barari announced that a new satellite named ‘Dousti’, literally meaning ‘friendship’, has been manufactured domestically and its ground stations have already been built.

SB/MQ/MG