Iran has revealed a satellite it will launch next year can take photos of the earth that are only 1/800th as good as what Iran can buy commercially.
Hossain Bolandi, the head of the satellite research center at Tehran’s Science and Industry University, met reporters and showed off the Navid (Herald) satellite that his center is building.
He said the satellite weighs 50 kilos (110 lbs.) and can transmit images to earth with a resolution of 400 meters. That means any object that is more than 400 meters in size or the length of four football fields can be seen in the photos to be sent by Navid.
But commercial satellites like the GeoEye1 now in service show objects only 50 
centimeters (20 inches) across. Iran can buy those photos. US intelligence satellites reportedly can discern objects less than 1 centimeter (a half inch) in size.
Bolandi said the Navid would be launched this summer.
Hamid Fazeli, the head of the Iranian Space Agency, said Navid is one of three Iranian satellites that will be launched in the coming Persian year.
Fazeli acknowledged that none of three satellites might have great accuracy in what they would photograph, but he said they were further steps along the road to Iran’s technological progress.
Fazeli said the Rasad (Observer) satellite has passed all tests and is ready to be launched soon after Now Ruz.
Later in the year, he said, Fajr (Dawn) and Navid would be fired into orbit. He said they both still had to undergo further tests.
Before Now Ruz, Fazeli said, Iran would fire the fourth Kavoshgar (Explorer) rocket into space carrying a monkey. The Kavoshgar is a sounding rocket—that is, it does not go into orbit. It is fired straight up 120 kilometers and then falls back to earth under a parachute.
Iran has so far built and launched one satellite. That was Omid (Hope), orbited two years ago this month. There has been no epxlanation for the long delay before launching a second satellite.
Last February, Iran unveiled three satellites: Navid, Tolu and Mesbah-2. It said they would all be launched during this Persian year. None has been. Navid is now on the schedule with Rasad and Fajr, which were not mentioned a year ago. For launch next year. All this suggests considerable confusion within the space program.
The first Kavoshgar was launched in February 2008 and the government released a photo of the capsule intact after it landed back on earth. The second Kavoshgar was launched in December 2008; no photos or details were given. The third Kavoshgar was launched last February carrying a mouse, two turtles and some worms. Photos were released showing the capsule with the animals before launch, but no photos afterward were shown, leading to suspicions the capsule did not return intact.
