Egypt to launch satellite

CAIRO, March 13 (UPI) -- Egypt said Saturday it plans to launch its first reconnaissance satellite within one or two years at the latest.

The satellite has been authorized by the government and will be undertaken by the Scientific Research Ministry, Middle East Newsline reported Saturday.

Egyptian officials said the satellite project is meant for civilian research that will be conducted with the assistance of Western governments.

However, the launch of the reconnaissance satellite is meant to respond to Israel's Ofeq military reconnaissance satellite program, officials said. The officials also said Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have sought to challenge Israel's dominance of space.