Iran's president says the Islamic Republic plans to launch bigger satellites with longer ranges.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that the satellites could reach an altitude of 35,000 kilometers. He spoke in the northwestern city of Zanjan where he was marking the opening of two dams.

Iranian state media reported last Wednesday that the nation had launched and put in orbit its second domestically built satellite. Iran's Arabic language al-Alam television said the satellite, known as Rasad 1 (Observation), would be used for transmitting images and weather forecasts.

In February 2009, Iran launched its first domestically-built spacecraft, a communications satellite known as Omid (Hope).

Tehran's ambitious space program has worried Western countries, which fear the same technology used to launch satellites could be used to launch nuclear warheads.

Iran says its space and nuclear programs are designed for peaceful uses.

Iranian media reported last year that three other satellites are in development: the Tolou (Dawn), Navid (Good News) and Mesbah-2 (Lantern).