TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Space Organization chief Reza Taghipour Wednesday said Iran will send its first astronaut to space within the following decade, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

    The exact date for the travel of the first Iranian spaceman will be set within one year, Taghipour said.

    Iran must win the first place in space technology in the region by the Iranian year of 1400 (the equivalent Christian year of 2021) and related studies have been carried out in the field, he said.

    "For the peaceful use of the space, Iran has cooperated with Russia and Italy, and this will be continued in the future," Taghipour was quoted as saying.

    He also said Islamic satellite "Besharat" is being constructed by Iran and some other Islamic countries.

    Iran announced Sunday that it successfully launched a home-made satellite-carrier rocket named Safir (messenger). Safir is Iran's first domestically made satellite carrier, capable of putting lightweight satellites into low earth orbit.

    On Monday, head of Iran's space agency Reza Taghipour told Press TV that the Safir launch paves the way for Iran to send its domestically-built telecommunication satellite named Omid (hope) into orbit "in the near future."

    Iran planned to put a "series of satellites" into space by 2010to aid natural disaster management programs and improve telecommunications, Taghipour added.

    In February, Iran said it has prepared for the satellite launch by sending a probe into space on the back of a rocket on the mission.

    Last Friday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad said in an interview in Istanbul that Iran would in the near future launch its first domestically made satellite to the space.

    Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions, has pursued a space program for several years, according to local media.