Iran launches rocket into space amid Vienna nuclear talks
CTV
Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth's orbit.
It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of the blastoff against the backdrop of negotiations in Vienna to restore Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers. An eight round had been underway this week and is to resume after New Year's holidays.
Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday's announcement from Iran.
Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket that sent up the three devices 470 kilometres (290 miles).
"The performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly," Hosseini was quoted as saying.
Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin launched a six-person crew - including the first U.S. Black astronaut candidate from the 1960s - from West Texas to the edge of space on Sunday, resuming its centerpiece space tourism business for the first time since its suborbital New Shepard rocket was grounded in 2022.