President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that Iran would send its first manned shuttle into space by 2019, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.

In February Iran test-fired its domestically made satellite carrying rocket Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) and Ahmadinejad said Tehran hoped to send astronauts into space soon.

"In response to the enemy's resolutions, it was decided that the project be pushed forward by five years," Ahmadinejad said on Friday, referring to Iran's shuttle programme.

Tehran has said Kavoshgar-3 will transmit electronic data and live footage back to earth.

In 2009, Iran launched a domestically made satellite and put it into orbit for the first time. It has said the Omid satellite was launched for telecommunications and research purposes.



Reuters