Iran launches three satellites amid rising tensions with Western powers
Al Jazeera
Satellites will be used to test communication and geopositioning tech, and efficacy of delivering cargoes, Iran said.
Iran has successfully launched three satellites for the first time using its carrier rocket developed by the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, state media reported, a milestone the West fears will boost Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.
The satellites were sent to a minimum orbit of 450km (280 miles) on Sunday. One satellite weighing 32kg (71 pounds) and two nano-satellites of less than 10kg each were propelled using the Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier rocket.
The nano-satellites, named Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1, will be used to test narrowband communication and geopositioning technology, state media said.
The larger satellite, named Mahda and built by the Iranian Space Agency, will aim to test the accuracy of the Simorgh rocket in delivering multiple cargoes to space. The Simorgh rocket has had multiple failures in the past.
An analysis by The Associated Press news agency of the footage of the launch showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran’s rural Semnan province.
