Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi on Sunday unveiled three indigenous telecommunication satellites Pars 2, Navak and upgraded Pars 1 at a ceremony to commemorate the National Space Technology Day.
The event was officially opened
by the address of President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Ministry of Information
and Communication Technology, in which Hashemi spoke about the achievements and
future plans of Iran’s space industry.
"The fact that we are able
to hold such a ceremony today is due to the efforts of all researchers who exercised
resilience in this field. Considering the less-than-savory conditions we were
facing, we can proudly state that Iran's space industry has taken great
strides."
He acknowledged President Pezeshkian’s
participation in the ceremony and said, ”The president's presence and his
association with the National Space Technology Day clearly shows that the
government has a firm and serious belief in the development of the space
industry.”
“In the Seventh Development Plan,
under Chapter 13, tasks for the space industry have been placed on the
government's agenda,” Hashemi added pointing to the missions entrusted to the ICT
ministry in the document.
"Consolidating Iran's position
in the sub-thousand kilometer orbit, which is intentionally referred to as the
500 kilometer orbit or LEO, and achieving the geostationary orbit at an
altitude of 36,000 kilometers are among the important objectives pursued in the
Seventh Development Plan. In the short period of the government's tenure, we
have witnessed valuable achievements in the space industry that have been gained
with effort, empathy, and most importantly, teamwork in various fields."
Hashemi also emphasized the role
of various actors in the space industry and said, "When one looks at the
space industry, it turns out that the actors and researchers in this field are
advancing their goals like a system. From the private sector to the military
and civil sectors and numerous ministries, they either directly use the
capacity of the space industry or benefit from the overflow of the space
industry and its achievements, which has resulted in great accomplishments.”
Private sector boosts space industry
The Iranian ICT minister referred
to the role of the private sector in advancing space industry programs and its significance
in this field.
"We believe that the private
sector can advance with fast acceleration the path that has begun. It has the
opportunity to use unparalleled capacities of human resources and resources
which is productivity. Productivity is one of the issues that can lead us
towards the 8 percent economic growth target."
"The private sector can also
play a more effective role in international interactions. Therefore, we must
pave the way for the private sector to participate in the space industry,"
he added.
Hashemi pointed to the
applications of space technology and said that one of the issues that the Iranian
president is emphasizing is the issue of preparing land cover maps for the
country.
At the final part of his speech,
Hashemi referred to programs of the ICT ministry and said, access to the GEO orbit
is emphasized by the Supreme Leader who emphasized it during a visit to the
Pioneers of Progress Exhibition held last week in Tehran.
“This opens a new horizon for the
space industry and can establish a new ecosystem,” the minister said.