On Thursday, Iran successfully launched its most advanced satellite-carrying rocket into space. The rocket called "Simorgh" (phoenix) is capable of carrying a satellite weighing 250 kilograms.
The launch took place at the Imam Khomeini National Space Station in Semnan, some 220 kilometers east of Tehran.
Simorgh is larger than an earlier model known as Safir (ambassador) that Iran has used to launch satellites.
In 2013 Iran launched a monkey into space. The country also planned to send humans into orbit, yet it was abandoned due to high costs.
Iran has offered to share its scientific findings and satellite data with other countries. Iran's most recent successful satellite rocket launch was in February 2015, when it put an imaging satellite known as "Fajr" into orbit.
source: commonspace.eu with Tehran Times
