Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari has expressed hope that the domestically designed Sharif satellite would be launched into space by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015). He made the remarks during a ceremony held at the Iranian Space Research Center in Tehran on Saturday to mark World Space Week (October 4 to 10), IRNA reported. Iran Space Agency director Hamid Fazeli had previously announced that Iran planned to send three satellites into space by the year end. Iran launched its first satellite, called the Omid (Hope), in February 2009. The Rasad (Observation) satellite was also sent into orbit in June 2011. In February 2012, Iran successfully put its third domestically manufactured satellite, named the Navid, into orbit.
