Iran says sends first home-made satellite into space

By Fredrik Dahl and Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran said it launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit on Tuesday, boasting major progress in its space technology when tension with the West over its nuclear ambitions persists.

The launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite may irritate the administration of new U.S. President Barack Obama, who has said he sees the Islamic Republic as a threat but is also offering direct dialogue with its leaders.

The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit can also be used for launching weapons, although Iran says it has no plans to do so.

The launch comes a day ahead of a meeting by Western powers on Iran in Frankfurt. Political directors from the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and China are to meet on Wednesday to discuss the conflict with Iran over its nuclear program.

It will be their first gathering since Obama took office.

The Obama administration has signaled that it will pursue direct talks with Tehran but has also warned Iran to expect more pressure if it does not meet the U.N. Security Council demand to halt uranium enrichment.

Sending the Omid into space is a message to the world that Iran is "very powerful and you have to deal with us in the right way," an Iranian political analyst said.

Omid, launched as Iran marks the 30th anniversary this month of the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah, is designed for research and telecommunications, state television said.

It showed footage of a rocket blasting off from a firing platform and lighting up the night sky.

"Dear Iranian nation, your children have placed the first indigenous satellite into orbit," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised message.

"With God's help and the desire for justice and peace, the official presence of the Islamic Republic was registered in space," he said.

WESTERN CONCERN

The Omid was designed to gather information and test equipment, the television said. It will circle 14 times around earth every 24 hours, said Iran's ISNA news agency.

It was "another achievement for Iranian scientists under sanctions," the television presenter said, adding there were also plans to send an astronaut into space in the year 2021.

Iran is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions because the United States and other Western powers suspect Tehran is amassing the capability to produce nuclear weapons.

The Islamic state, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, says its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity to meet the demands of its economy.

It caused international concern in February last year by testing a domestically made rocket as part of its satellite program. Tehran said it needed two more similar tests before putting a satellite into orbit.

The United States, which has been spearheading a drive to isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear plans, called the February rocket test "unfortunate."

In August, Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit with a domestically made rocket for the first time. U.S. officials said that launch had ended in failure.

Ahmadinejad has set tough terms for any talks with Obama's administration, saying it must change policy not just tactics toward Tehran and apologize for past "crimes" against Iran.

Western experts say Iran rarely gives enough details for them to determine the extent of its technological advances, and that much Iranian technology consists of modifications of equipment supplied by China, North Korea and others.

The television broadcast said the Omid would return to earth with data after orbiting for one to three months. Iran already had a satellite in orbit but the Sina-1 was launched by a Russian rocket in 2005, said the television.