Iran’s Defense Ministry Claims Successful Launch of Simorgh Satellite Carrier with Three Research Payloads
Iran’s Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday, December 30th, that it successfully launched the Simorgh satellite carrier into space. This comes even as some journalists close to the Islamic Republic have rejected this claim.
Conciding with the eighth round of nuclear negotiations between Western countries and Iran to revive the JCPOA, Iranian media quoted Ahmad Hosseini, the space spokesman for the Defense Ministry and Armed Forces Support, as saying that “the intended research objectives” were achieved in this operation and “three research payloads were simultaneously sent to an altitude of 470 kilometers at a speed of 7,350 meters per second.”
This is the fifth attempt by the Islamic Republic of Iran to launch the Simorgh satellite carrier into space; however, some journalists close to the Islamic Republic say this launch was also unsuccessful.
Mohammad Shaltokhi, a defense security correspondent for the Farsnews Agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote minutes after the news was published that the term “successful” refers to the launch process and “the payloads were not injected into orbit.”
He added: “At an altitude of 470 kilometers, injecting a satellite into orbit requires greater speed, and given the announced speed of 7,350 meters per second, orbital injection naturally did not occur.”
A journalist from Qom also wrote, stating that “the launch of the Simorgh satellite carrier was, unfortunately, unsuccessful again and the payload did not achieve sufficient speed to enter orbit,” adding: “We must make great efforts to achieve success.”
The Associated Press reported on June 22nd that satellite imagery shows Iran unsuccessfully attempted to launch a satellite on June 15th and is attempting another launch.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also launched a satellite into space last year, and that launch was accompanied by reactions from the United States and the UN Security Council.
Source: Voice of America
