Iran successfully launches Noor 3 satellite into orbit

Middle East, News September 28, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have carried out a successful launch of its third imaging satellite into space on September 27, 2023. The launch of the third reconnaissance satellite was conducted by the aerospace division of the Iranian military.

Two officials from Iran’s IRGC confirmed the successful launch of the Noor-3 satellites. Iran’s Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said that like its predecessors, the Noor-3 satellite has been placed in an orbit 450 kilometers from the surface of the Earth.

Authorities released footage of a rocket taking off from a mobile launcher without giving details about the location of the launch. According to some independent sources the launch was carried out at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport at a base near Shahroud, in Semnan province, which is about 330 kilometers northeast of the capital, Tehran.

The launch was carried out using an Iranian indigenously made Qased rocket. Qased, which means messenger or carrier, is a three-stage expendable small-lift orbital space launch vehicle propelled by Iran’s Ghadr medium-range ballistic missile.

While speaking at an event in Tehran’s Basij, the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC General Hossein Salami said that the launch had been a “victory” and that the satellite would collect data and images.

Iran Qased Satellite Launch Vehicle — *^{Iran Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Forces launched Qased Satellite Launch Vehicle. (Image Credit: Fars Media Corporation/via Twitter)}*

Despite the heavy economic sanctions and several failed attempts at launching satellites, the Iranian space program has seen substantial success in recent times as it has managed to place at least three satellites into orbit in the span of the last four years.

Iran launched its first Noor space satellite in 2020 while a second version reached its orbit in 2022. In August 2022, Iran built a satellite that was launched through the Russian space carrier from a base in Kazakhstan. Iranian-made satellites are capable of taking high-resolution images from space.

Concerns over Iranian space missions

So far, the Western military officials and space agency have not confirmed the reports of the Iranian satellite launch. Western allies have always opposed Iran’s space programs suggesting that it violates the United Nations Security Council resolution.

The United States has alleged that Iran’s satellite launches defy the UN Security Council resolution and has called on Tehran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The U.S. has been keenly observing Iran’s space program and linked it to Tehran’s nuclear missile development capabilities. The U.S. intelligence community’s 2022 threat assessment report claims that Iran utilizes its satellite launch and space programs to test its ballistic missile capabilities. The report also suggests that such missions provide crucial data for the development of Tehran’s Intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Iran, however, denies seeking nuclear weapons capabilities through its space launches and maintains that its space missions are for peaceful purposes and that its satellites do not have military components of any sort.