(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Iran had successfully tested what it called a rocket that had reached space.
The announcement, made on state-run television, was unclear, but appeared to refer to Iran's efforts to launch commercial satellites into orbit.
Iran's Science and Technology and Defense ministries built the craft, the state-run television quoted Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iran's Space Research Center, as saying.
Bahrami provided no other details beyond saying that Iran had successfully launched what he called a space rocket or space missile.
Iran in the past has announced that it wanted to be able to send its own satellites, including commercial ones, into orbit. But it has revealed little information about the project.
In 2005, Iran launched its first such satellite in a joint project with Russia.
Iran hopes to launch four more satellites by 2010, the government has said, to increase the number of land and mobile telephone lines to 80 million from 22 million. It also hopes to expand its satellite capabilities to let Internet users to rise to 35 million from 5.5 million in the next five years.
Iran requires at least a 12 transponder satellite to enhance its communications and Internet systems. It signed a $132 million deal with a Russian firm to build and launch another telecommunications satellite two years ago.
© 2007 The Associated Press
© 2007 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved