Tehran. Photo: Talk Radio News

[Via Satellite 1-2-2014] Iran is preparing to launch domestically designed and manufactured satellites in the beginning of Feb. 2014. According to Hamid Fazeli, deputy head of the Iran Space Agency (ISA), final tests are being carried out on several indigenous satellites.

Iranian students and academics from Sharif University of Technology developed Sharif Sat, and Earth observation satellite reportedly weighing less than 50 kilograms. The satellite is for use in LEO at an altitude between 350 kilometers and 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

AUT Sat was developed by Iranian scientists at Amir Kabir University of Technology. It is a monitoring and telecommunications satellite, weighing in at 100 kilograms, and has an expected lifespan of two years.