Iran tests rocket for future launch of satellite
Iran has test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday.
By Agencies |
TEHRAN : Iran has test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday.
Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir, or Ambassador, was successful, state TV said, as it broadcast images of the nighttime launch.
It said the Omid research satellite will gather atmospheric data from a low orbit but did not give a date for its launch.
Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program. In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.
Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite in February, saying that trial was also successful. It said then that it planned two more test launches before attempting to put its first domestically built satellite into orbit.
The country's fledgling space program, like its nuclear program, has provoked unease abroad. The same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads.
The United States called the Feb. 4 launch ``just another troubling development,'' saying it was a cause for concern about Iran's continuing development of medium- and long-range missiles.
Despite the anxiety over Iran's space program, it is not exactly clear how developed it is.
Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications. Iranian officials also point to America's use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for their security.
Iranian officials have said the country wants to launch a satellite on its own rocket and indicated they are developing a Shahab-4 missile to do that. Iran's powerful ballistic missile, the Shahab-3, is believed to have a range of at least 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), putting Israel and much of the Middle East in range.
In November, Iran said it had manufactured a new missile, the Ashoura, with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
Iran hopes to launch four more satellites by 2010, the government has said.
Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir, or Ambassador, was successful, state TV said, as it broadcast images of the nighttime launch.
It said the Omid research satellite will gather atmospheric data from a low orbit but did not give a date for its launch.
Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program. In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.
Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite in February, saying that trial was also successful. It said then that it planned two more test launches before attempting to put its first domestically built satellite into orbit.
The country's fledgling space program, like its nuclear program, has provoked unease abroad. The same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads.
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The United States called the Feb. 4 launch ``just another troubling development,'' saying it was a cause for concern about Iran's continuing development of medium- and long-range missiles.
Despite the anxiety over Iran's space program, it is not exactly clear how developed it is.
Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications. Iranian officials also point to America's use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for their security.
Iranian officials have said the country wants to launch a satellite on its own rocket and indicated they are developing a Shahab-4 missile to do that. Iran's powerful ballistic missile, the Shahab-3, is believed to have a range of at least 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), putting Israel and much of the Middle East in range.
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In November, Iran said it had manufactured a new missile, the Ashoura, with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).
Iran hopes to launch four more satellites by 2010, the government has said.
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