Tasnim � The assistant director of the Iranian Space Agency announced that the country has tested the flying prototype of an advanced homegrown satellite due to be launched into orbit in the near future.

In remarks released on Sunday, Mina Bayat said several rounds of maneuvers have been conducted to test the performance of the ground stations of the satellite dubbed �Dousti (friendship)�.

The official said the flying prototype of the satellite was also tested on Saturday again.

Iran has in recent years made great headways in the space technology thanks to the efforts made by its local scientists.

The country successfully launched its first indigenous data-processing satellite, Omid (Hope), into orbit in February 2009.

In February 2017, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled 3 new achievements in the space industry, including Payam, which has been made in Tehran�s Amirkabir University of Technology with the mission to take surveying images at resolutions below 40 meters. Equipped with a range of homegrown technologies, the satellite will go into orbit with a local carrier.

In July 2017, Iran inaugurated the Imam Khomeini National Space Center with the successful test-launch of a homegrown satellite carrier dubbed Simorgh.

The center, home to Iran�s first fixed launch platform, administrates the development, launch, and navigation of Iranian satellite carriers.

Designed and built in compliance with international standards, the Imam Khomeini National Space Center is going to handle all space projects in the low?Earth orbit (LEO).