Iran has launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit to mark the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution this month. State television showed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announcing the launch.

The satellite called Omid, or hope, was launched into space late on Monday.

Iranian state radio said the satellite will circle the earth and send telemetric reports to the space center in Iran. It has two frequency bands and eight antennas for transmitting data.

The satellite was carried into the orbit by a Safir-2 rocket. Tehran opened its first space center last year, with the launch of a research rocket.

(CCTV February 4, 2009)