Iran launches satellite, fails to put it into orbit

Iran launched a satellite yesterday but failed to put it into orbit in a blow to its space programme. The attempted launch of the Zafar comes days before the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and crucial parliamentary elections in Iran on February



21.

Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi admitted soon after that the launch has failed. Iran also unveiled a new a short-range ballistic missile and its new generation of engines designed to put satellites into space.