Tehran, SAEDNEWS: Kan’ani made the remarks in a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, after Khayyam satellite was launched into orbit from the Moscow-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
“The launch of the Khayyam satellite into space is the latest achievement of Iranian space scientists for peaceful purposes and another golden page in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s scientific achievements,” Kan’ani said.
“The bright path of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s scientific and technological progress continues despite the sanctions and the maximum pressure of the enemies,” he added.
Equipped with a Fregat upper stage, Khayyam satellite was sent into orbit on Tuesday by Soyuz-2.1b rocket, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in neighboring Kazakhstan, marking what Iran described as the beginning of strategic aerospace cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
According to the reports, the satellite will be placed in an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. It will send high-resolution images four times a day.
Imagery from Khayyam will be used to monitor Iran’s borders and improve the country’s capabilities in management and planning in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, environment, mining, and natural disasters.
Meanwhile, Yuri Borisov, head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, has hailed the launch as an “important milestone” in Russian-Iranian bilateral cooperation that paves the way for implementing new joint projects.
“Due to Khayyam satellite’s weight of more than half a tonne and the very high success rate of the Soyuz launcher, the launch of the Khayyam satellite has been entrusted to Russia,” Borisov said in a statement published on the Iranian space agency’s website, according to AFP.
“As ever before, today Russia is open to cooperation in the field of space exploration with all interested countries and partners,” he added.
The launch of Khayyam satellite comes amid concerns that it could be used for battlefield surveillance in Russia's offensive against Ukraine.
Iran has rejected the allegations, emphasizing that it will have full control and operation over the satellite "from day one".
In a Sunday statement, the Iranian Space Agency's (ISA) Mahdasht space base rejected recent reports that claimed Moscow might maintain control of the satellite temporarily to use it in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The ISA dismissed the unfounded suspicions and said that the Khayyam satellite will be fully controlled by Iranian experts and technicians based inside Iran from the very beginning of its launch.
It added that it is impossible for any country or entity to access the satellite other than Iran because it is equipped with encrypted algorithms designed by ISA’s researchers.
The statement came after a report last week on the website of the American newspaper the Washington Post alleging the Iranian satellite is supposed to aid Russia’s own war effort in Ukraine.
Iran FM: Constructiveness of sanctions-removal talks hinges on US seriousness
