Subscription Center
Feb 3, 2009 11:15 AM | 2
Iran says it launched a satellite last night as part of what officials there described as the country’s bid to develop a space program.
The satellite, named Omid, or “hope,” was “successfully sent into orbit” with a Safir 2 (or "ambassador") rocket, according to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency. The “data-processing” satellite project began nearly four years ago “as the first practical step toward acquiring national space technology,” says another IRNA report, noting that “its main objective is to prepare the grounds for promoting [a] national space industry in Iran.”
French officials confirmed that a launch took place, the Associated Press reports. The rocket was apparently fired in two stages, according to The New York Times: The first involved a Shahab, a standard rocket in Iran’s arsenal. The second stage was liquid fueled, and there may have been a small, solid-fuel third stage.
Iran test-fired a Safir 2 rocket in August that had satellite-carrying capabilities and a range of 155 miles. The government there has said that it wants to send satellites into space to monitor national security as well as natural hazards, such as the devastating 2003 earthquake in Bam that killed more than 26,000 people and injured 30,000, and for national security. Iranian authorities say the Omid will circle Earth 15 times over a 24-hour period, AP says.
The U.S. and other countries are concerned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. (It is reportedly developing enriched uranium, which it says is for electricity but critics warn is intended for weapons and to set off long-range ballistic missiles.) Weapons experts note that the technology required for launching rockets can also be used to set off weapons.
For more on nuclear power, check out our In-Depth Report.
Flag of Iran by Pumbaa80 via Wikimedia Commons
Tags:
nuclear,
missile,
space,
space exploration,
weapons,
Iran
More News Blog:
Next: Daschle withdraws as HHS secretary nominee
Previous: Skin check for cancer? You may not need one
See what we're tweeting about
Deadline: Aug 31 2013
Reward: $100,000 USD
The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative (GBFAI) is launching the 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge whose
Deadline: Jul 25 2013
Reward: Varies
This challenge provides an opportunity for Solvers to build a web-based or mobile “app” to explore data relationships in scholarly conte
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
2 Comments
Add CommentWell, I suppose this just broadens the market of countries the US can pay to put our astronauts into space as our own capabilities continue to atrophy. The equipment we can put into orbit, on bodies or deep space are second to none. We're just running out of delivery systems. A country that started from scratch and in less than 10 years sent a team to the moon and brought them back safely. Forty years later the plan is to regain that ability 12 years from now.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's one thing to have long range missle capability and antoher to have nuclear weapon capability. They now have one. Isreal has both. What would be the immiedate response of the other nuclear powers (China, France, Russia, India, Pakistan) on an Isreal/Iran nuclear exhange? What would be the Muslim response on Iran dropping the bomb on Islamic holy site in Isreal and radiating the Palestinians?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPeople thought the Russian/American standoff was a source of worry. This is at least another minute on the doomsday clock.