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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran says his country will soon send up a rocket that will put the country's first domestically launched satellite into orbit.

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The exact status of the Iranian space program has been shrouded in mystery. On 4 February, Iran reportedly tested the Kaveshgyar-1 (Explorer). It appears not to have reached orbit, although Iranian authorities say all systems performed normally.

Iran's first satellite was launched in 2005 by a Russian rocket. Earlier this year a Chinese rocket put a joint Chinese-Thai-Iranian satellite into orbit. Omid, a domestic design, will be launched before the end of the year.

The Iranian Space Agency has said it plans to launch several domestic satellites by 2010 and send its first astronaut into space within the next decade.

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