Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has successfully placed Iran’s first military satellite into orbit on Wednesday.
The satellite was launched from a space center in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s largest desert bordered by Khorasan, Semnan, Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd provinces. The launch vehicle named Qased (messenger in Persian) carried Noor (light in Persian) to the orbit some 425 km away, Tasnim News Agency reported.
A few hours after the launch, the news outlet reported on Twitter that Noor has communicated its first signal that was received at Tabriz Space Center.
IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amirali Hajizadeh told IRIB that a hybrid-propellant rocket was used for putting satellite Noor into orbit.
“Both solid and liquid fuels were used in the mission. The Salman space composite engine with a mobile nozzle, which was unveiled in February 2020, was also used in the launch,” he said.
IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami hailed the launch as a major step in expanding Iran’s military might, stressing that a space program is pivotal to every nation’s defense strategy.
Calling the satellite launch a “strategic achievement”, Salami said, “The successful launch of the satellite has demonstrated new dimensions of the Islamic Republic’s defense power.”
Sepah News quoted Salami as saying that the multi-purpose satellite has military applications.
Further details on the satellite’s applications were not furnished.
The satellite launch came a day after the 41st anniversary of IRGC’s establishment. Late Founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the establishment of IRGC on April 22, 1979.
Images from the launch showed the satellite carrier was inscribed with a verse of the holy Qur’an, “Exalted is He who has subjected this to us, and we could not have [otherwise] subdued it.” Imam Ali (PBUH) had recommended the verse to be recited before embarking on a trip.
Reactions
The satellite launch is yet to provoke a response of foreign states, but the news was announced with jubilation by Iranian top officials.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also hailed the launch in a series of tweets posted in Persian, English and Arabic. He wrote, “#IRGC has become the #GhasedENour (messenger of light) in its birth anniversary & honor of the successful launch of the first military satellite of #Iran was recorded in the vast record of the firsts of this sacred entity. Congratulations & greetings to Revolutionary Guards.”
In a tweet, ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi who oversees Iran’s civilian space program congratulated IRGC for the successful mission. He wrote that Qased SLV was a "three-stage solid-fuel launch vehicle."
Responding to a question posted by Jon Gambrell, Persian Gulf and Iran news director of Associated Press, on the nature of IRGC’s satellite launch, Jahromi emphasized that Iran’s space program is peaceful.
According to Jahromi, the civilian part is carried out by the government while the armed forces oversee the peaceful defense program.
The Islamic Republic has an ongoing civilian space program. Over the past year, on different occasions, the Iranian government tried to put remote sensing and communication satellites into orbit, but those missions failed.
Iran suffered several failed satellite launches in recent months. The latest came in February when Iran failed to put its Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit. That failure came after two failed launches of the Payam and Doosti satellites last year.
Nevertheless, several launches are in the pipeline.
In January, the University of Science and Technology handed over two locally-developed satellites Zafar1 and Zafar2 to the Iranian Space Agency.
“State agencies have initiated two projects to develop more advanced satellite launch vehicles,” Iran Space Agency’s chief, Morteza Barari, announced in February.
