Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, in separate messages on Tuesday, extended his congratulations to Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the successful launch and orbiting of Fajr (Dawn) home-made satellite.

In his messages, Dehqan also congratulated the Iranian nation for the achievement.

The satellite, completely built by Iranian scientists, was launched on the second day of the national ceremonies marking the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979).

The Iranian satellite was sent into the orbit - at the altitude of 450km - on the back of the home-made Safir-e Fajr launcher.

In October, Deputy Head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli announced that Tehran was preparing to orbit three new home-made satellites, called Zafar (Triumph), Tolou (Sunrise) and Pars, from more powerful launchers and on the back of bigger carriers in the near future.

"Launching the under-construction satellites, including Sharifsat and Nahid, are also among the short-term plans of the ISA," he added.

Also, Iranian Vice-President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari told reporters in the same month that Iran hoped that its Sharifsat satellite would be sent into orbit this year.

Fazeli had announced in May that Iran planned to launch three home-made monitoring satellites into orbit in the next Iranian calendar year (March 2015-March 2016).

"Zafar, Tolou and AUT Sat will be sent into space onboard the Simorq satellite carrier," he said.

Fazeli noted that the satellites would transmit images of the Earth's surface to ground stations.

Zafar will be sent into a geostationary orbit, which is a circular orbit around 36,000 kilometers (22,320 miles) above the Earth's equator.

The satellite will reportedly have a lifespan of one year and six months, and will capture images and transmit them to stations on earth.

Tolou satellite will also carry out remote sensing and topography missions, and will travel in an orbit of 500 kilometers above from the Earth’s equator.

News ID 187565