TEHRAN, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has plans to launch satellites into a geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) 36,000 km above the earth, IRGC's Aerospace Force Space Division announced on Sunday.
Brigadier General Ali Jafarabadi pointed to the IRGC's recent "successful" launch of the homegrown Noor 1 satellite into space, saying that it plans to reach higher orbits in coming years, according to Tasnim news agency.
The GEO is very significant and strategic, since the telecommunication and television satellites are placed in this orbit, Jafarabadi was quoted as saying.
The launch of satellite into the geosynchronous equatorial orbit has economic benefits for the country and would also protect Iran's space assets, he added.
On April 22, the IRGC announced the launch of country's first military satellite Noor 1 into space by the satellite carrier Qased (messenger) from the central desert region of the country. It said that the satellite "successfully" reached the 425 km orbit above the earth. Enditem
