TEHRAN – Iran plans to launch a new domestically-manufactured satellite dubbed Sharif in the near future, the chancellor of Sharif University has announced.

“Industrial Sharif University’s satellite will be the last satellite designed by university students, which will be launched into space,” Reza Roustazad told ISNA news agency in an interview published on Monday.
The Sharif satellite, described by officials as the country’s best, will be sent into space when it is capable of orbiting 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, he added.
He went on to say that the reason why Iran’s satellites cannot stay in space for a long time is that they cannot orbit the Earth in an altitude upper than 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Thus, efforts should be made to increase the launch power of satellites in order to stay longer in space, he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the first Iranian satellite that was launched stayed in space for only 2 months but the second one could stay longer thanks to higher altitude above the Earth’s surface.
He concluded that Iran can use its satellites permanently when the launch power reaches a level that can send satellites into an altitude upper than 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface