Iran conducted a satellite launch, but the Payam satellite failed to reach orbit, Iranian state television reported.
Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said that the rocket carrying the Payam satellite failed to reach the "necessary speed" in the third stage of its launch.
According to Jahromi, the rocket had successfully passed its first and second stages before developing problems in the third.
He did not elaborate on what caused the rocket failure, but promised that Iranian scientists would continue their work, the AP reported.
