Iran’s successful launch of their own satellite yesterday contains some interesting notes. The satellite called Omid , or Hope in Farsi, is said to have: “remote sensing, satellite telemetry and geographic information system technology as well as remote and ground station data processing.” This description may cause some confusion regarding the definition of geographic information system (GIS) technology, since GIS is a repository for imagery and other data for analysis and not an active sensor itself.
The launch is raising worldwide concerns regarding the aims of Iran’s space program. Omid is said to have a two to three-month lifecycle, with plans to launch another satellite by this summer.
