Iran launched a research rocket on Monday and unveiled its first major space center that will be used to launch research satellites, state-run television reported.The report said the rocket was the first launched by Iran “into space,” but analysts have expressed doubts about similar technological achievements announced by the country in the past.Iran launched its first domestically built rocket last February, which soared to the edge of space but did not reach orbit level.“The first Iranian rocket Explorer-1 was fired into space,” state-run television reported Monday. Space is considered to begin at 100 kilometres above the earth. Ham radio satellites — the lowest flying satellites — orbit between 160-500 kilometres, while communication, weather and global-positioning satellites fly between 400-20,000 kilometres up.Monday’s report did not specify the altitude reached by the research rocket, but state TV showed live images of the launch, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issuing the launch order.Some Western experts have raised the possibility that Iran’s space programme may be a cover to more fully develop its military ballistic missiles.“With the launch, Iran has joined the world’s top 11 countries possessing space technology to build satellites and launch rockets into space,” the television said.
