Iran Space Agency (ISA) Director Hamid Fazeli said the Islamic republic has the capability to launch nano-satellites weighing below 10 kg into space, Tehran Times daily reported Thursday.

Some of Asian countries and an Austrian university have announced readiness to set their satellites into orbit using Iranian space shuttles, Fazeli was quoted as saying.

He said Iran is among a handful of countries in the world that are capable of developing satellite-related technologies.

In February, Iran launched an observation satellite into orbit. The spacecraft, named Navid (Herald), weighed 50 kg and could take pictures in low attitudes of about 250 km to 375 km from the earth.

Iran, a founding member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, launched its first domestically-made data-processing satellite, the Omid (Hope), into space in 2009.

Source: Xinhua News Agency