Iran Plans To Build Second Spaceport

by Staff Writers
for The Tehran Times
Tehran, Iran (SPX) Dec 14, 2010

Iran plans to construct its second spaceport, Communications and Information Technology Minister Reza Taqipour said on Sunday.

"At present, there is only one space launch base in the country... but there are some geographical limitations (in regard to launching satellites and missiles)," Taqipour told the Mehr News Agency.

Thus, Iran has carried out a feasibility study on the construction of a second spaceport in order to overcome those limitations, he added.

The current launch site is located in Semnan Province, and in recent years, two spacecraft have been launched from the center.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Taqipour said there are two telemetry tracking and control centers in the country that can track and control satellites launched from Iran, but they belong to other countries.

Iran has made great progress in its space program in recent years.

The Islamic Republic successfully launched a domestically manufactured satellite carrying a capsule containing a rat, turtles, and worms in February 2010.

The launch of the Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer 3) satellite was Iran's first experiment in sending living creatures into space.

Iran also plans to send people into space within 10 years

Source: The Tehran Times

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Iran_Plans_To_Build_Second_Spaceport_999.html.