The head of the Iranian Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh, has announced the launching of the operational phase of the country’s first satellite constellation, Mehr reported.

The Iranian Space Agency has named one of Iran’s most important space projects after Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in order to honor him.

“The implementation of the project, which is called ‘Martyr Soleimani Project’ and is considered to be the first satellite system project of our country, is of great importance owing to the achievements in the production of satellite series and their network formation,” Salarieh said.

“In less than a month since the approval of the 10-year space program, one of the most important clauses of which is the implementation of the Martyr Soleimani Project, … the implementation phase of the project was officially launched,” he added.

In line with the program's scope, Iran plans to become the regional epicenter of the development of space technology and provider of space launch services.