Iran has purchased the rights to two geostationary orbit positions from the International Telecommunications Union, the deputy director of Iran's Space Agency announced.
In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Mohammad Homayoun Sadr added that the two registered positions at 24.19 and 34 degrees will be used for nationwide telecommunications, TV and radio transmissions.
He also explained procedures regarding registering and maintaining positions on geostationary orbit positions.
According to Sadr, regulations for utilizing geostationary orbit positions have changed in recent years with lifespan and replacement of satellites being key areas of change.
He added that the right to utilize these two positions will be granted immediately after Iran starts its satellite manufacturing program that will occupy the slots mentioned above.
The official underlined that Iran aims to launch indigenous geosynchronous satellites into orbit by 2025.
"A 10-year plan has been put on the agenda for the construction of two remote sensing and telecommunications satellites; the remote sensing device aims to localize a satellite capable of producing professional high precision images, while the telecommunications satellite seeks to be 'world-class', an objective that will hopefully be achieved by 2025," he said. Sadr mentioned the possibility of launching a prototype remote sensing satellite in the next Iranian year (staring March 21, 2017).
"Iran aims to launch satellites to higher altitudes, which would enable the agency to capture more precise imaging," he said.
