Russia successfully launches Iranian satellite

An Iranian satellite was launched into orbit, carried into space on a Russian rocket which took off from Kazakhstan. The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled at 8:52 a.m. Moscow time today from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility. About nine minutes after the launch, it placed the Iranian satellite called Khayyam into orbit.

The satellite is named after Omar Khayyam, a Persian scientist who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. Iranian state television aired footage of the launch live, noting that the country's telecommunications minister attended the liftoff in Kazakhstan.