According to state media, Iran has successfully launched three satellites using its carrier rocket, which was created by the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics. This is a significant development that the West fears would advance Tehran’s ballistic missile program.
On Sunday, the satellites were launched into a minimum orbit of 450 kilometers (280 miles). The Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier rocket carried two nano-satellites, each weighing less than 10 kg, and one larger satellite, weighing 32 kg (71 pounds).
According to official media, the nano-satellites, Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1, would be utilized to test geopositioning and narrowband communication technologies.
The Iranian Space Agency is building a larger satellite called Mahda, which will be used to evaluate how accurate the Simorgh rocket is in delivering numerous payloads into space. There have been several previous failures with the Simorgh rocket.
According to an analysis of the launch film by The Associated Press news agency, it happened at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in the rural Iranian region of Semnan.
In the video, state TV reporter Abbas Rasooli remarked, “The roar of the Simorgh [rocket] resonated in our country’s sky and infinite space.”
The launch coincides with rising tensions in the Middle East as a result of Israel’s ongoing bombardment on the Gaza Strip, raising concerns of a possible regional warfare. In sympathy with the Palestinians, militants with ties to Iran have attacked US and Israeli objectives in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. Under Israeli bombardment, almost 26,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in almost four months.
