TEHRAN - Iran launched a rocket equipped with various instruments for suborbital scientific observations as part of a broader satellite program, an Iranian report said.

Iran launched the Kavoshgar 1 rocket from a base in the country as part of the Omid scientific research satellite program, the Iranian state-run Press TV said Monday.

The Omid program is the first such system designed entirely by Iranian scientists, the report said, adding scientists will launch five additional satellites into orbit by 2010.

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