Iran says new research satellite launched into orbit

Iran on Saturday blasted a new research
satellite into orbit, state media said, in the latest such development for an
aerospace programme that has long faced Western criticism.

“The Chamran-1 research satellite was successfully launched and put into
orbit by the Ghaem-100 carrier,” state television said.

The satellite, which weighs around 60 kilograms (132 pounds), is designed to
test hardware and software systems for orbital manoeuvre technology, the TV
report said.

The device was designed and built by Iranian Electronics Industries
affiliated with the defence ministry, state TV said.

Western governments including the United States have repeatedly warned Iran
against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic
missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.

Iran has countered that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its
satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defence purposes only.

The Ghaem-100 rocket which carried the latest satellite is manufactured by
the aerospace organisation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, an arm of the
military.

The carrier is the country’s first three-stage solid-fuel satellite launcher,
and official media reported its use in January to send a satellite for the
first time into an orbit above 500 kilometres (310 miles).

Iran has for years been advancing its aerospace activities, insisting they
are peaceful and in accordance with United Nations Security Council
resolutions.

In February, Russia put into orbit an Iranian remote sensing and imaging
satellite, drawing condemnation from the United States.

At the time, Iran’s telecommunications minister said Iran had carried out a
dozen satellite launches over the previous two years.

Iran in January said it simultaneously sent three satellites into orbit,
nearly a week after the launch of a research satellite by the Guards.

The Islamic republic has struggled with several satellite launch failures in
the past.

Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, especially after its
arch-foe the United States, under then-president Donald Trump, in 2018
unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major
powers.

Iran on Thursday summoned four European ambassadors after they imposed new
sanctions over its alleged supply of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in
Ukraine, which Tehran denies. (BSS/AFP)