TEHRAN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps on Saturday test-launched the three-stage solid fuel Qaem-100 satellite carrier, Iranian official IRNA news agency reported.
The first-stage engine of the Qaem-100, which completed its ground test in January, has undergone its first sub-orbital flight, said the IRNA report.
The rocket is capable of placing satellites weighing 80 kg into an orbit of 500 km above the earth's surface.
After the relevant tests, the Qaem-100 is now ready to send into orbit the Nahid satellite manufactured by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, according to the report.
In August, Iran launched a Khayyam satellite into an orbit 500 km above the earth's surface, using a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Russia-operated Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan. The satellite is used to monitor the country's agricultural productivity and mining and mineral discoveries, and to deal with deforestation and natural or environmental hazards. ■
