Has Iran joined the space race?
State
television in Iran is reporting that the country has successfully
launched its second space rocket. It claims Kavogashgar 2 spent 40
minutes in the lower regions of space before returning to earth on a
parachute.
In February Tehran unveiled its first home-grown satellite, called Hope. It also inaugurated its first space centre.
Iran has long held ambitions of joining the elite group of nations with a space programme.
Today’s alleged launch will generate some unease among world leaders who are already concerned about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Number of experiments were conducted during Wednesday’s launch, mainly
to check the data retrieval systems the interaction of Iranian
scientists, Iranian sources said.
The Kavoshgar-1 test took place in February 2008. The rocked allegedly
reached an altitude of 200 kilometers, proving that Iran has the
technology to reach space.
Iran has always emphasized that its space programme has a peaceful character.
Despite these affirmations, the U.S. and Israel in particular have repeatedly expressed concerns over Iranian space ambitions.
The US cites the alleged Iranian threat as the main reason it wants a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe
Tehran eyes manned spaceflight by 2021
Iranian
space officials say they plan to launch a manned spacecraft before
2021. The Islamic Republic launched its first-ever satellite into orbit
this month.
The head of Iran's Aerospace Agency Reza Tagipur announced the plants on Tuesday. Ria Novosti news agency quote him as saying: "A successful Iranian manned spaceflight will be carried out before 2021."
He added: "India and
China were able to send their astronauts into space after 15 years of
research and preparations. We will also go the same route, but believe
we will achieve our goal in a shorter period."
Meanwhile Iran’s Minister of Telecommunications Mohammad Soltani told
journalists another seven satellites are being prepared for launch by
Iran.
Iran carried out its first successful satellite space launch on
February 2. Omid (Hope) was brought into a low Earth orbit by a
domestic rocket Safir (Messenger).
Several countries including the U.S., Britain, Israel and France eye
Iran’s space progress with suspicion. They say Tehran may be developing
missile technology that may be weaponized and used for nuclear warhead
delivery. Iran denies the allegation
Iran announces satellite launch
Iran
has successfully launched its first domestically-produced satellite,
according to the country's state television. The source claims the
rocket used to put the satellite into orbit was also designed at home.
Once
in orbit around the Earth, the report says, the device played the
recorded voice of President Ahmadinejad, congratulating the Iranian
nation.
Tehran unveiled its first space centre in 2008 when it launched a research rocket.
Iran has ambitions to develop a space programme, creating unease among
world leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile
programmes.
In 2005, Iran launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian
rocket, in a joint project with Moscow, which is the country’s main
partner in developing space technology.
Iran hopes to launch more satellites by 2010, the government has said.
It needs them to increase the number of land and mobile telephone lines
from 22 million to 80 million.
It also hopes to expand its satellite capabilities to increase Internet users to 35 million from 5.5 million.
Source: RT NEWS
Kindly regards,
Georgios
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