TEHRAN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Khayyam satellite was successfully launched into space from the Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan by Russia's Soyuz satellite carrier rocket on Tuesday, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Iranian experts and researchers were waiting to receive signals the satellite, Saeed Sediqian, deputy director of the Iran Space Agency (ISA), was quoted as saying.
The initial signals from the Khayyam satellite were expected to be received later when it crosses the Iranian sky, said Sediqian.
One of the most important steps taken by the Iranian space industry is to calculate the country's strategic needs with satellite data, he said, adding that the development of indigenous satellites has also been on the agenda.
The Khayyam satellite will monitor the country's agricultural productivity as well as mining and mineral discoveries, and deal with deforestation and natural or environmental hazards, according to a report published on the ISA website. ■
