Iran has used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices into space, a defence ministry spokesman said on Thursday, as indirect U.S.-Iran talks take place in Austria to try to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.
He did not clarify whether the devices had reached orbit.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in the past few years due to technical issues.
Continue Reading Article ( Reuters ) …
[ Editor: However slowly things may be going, Iran is working out the kinks and refining their long range missile and space launch capabilities.
Consider this excerpt from a November 21, 2021 piece by 38 North:
“A 2016 Congressional Research Service report warned that ballistic missile technology cooperation between Iran and North Korea is “significant and meaningful.” These revelations culminated in US Treasury Department sanctions in 2016 against Iranian entities that cooperated with North Korea. While evidence of these shipments diminished from 2016-2019, Iran’s Shahid Haj Ali Movahed Research Center received “support and assistance” from North Korean missile specialists for a space launch vehicle (SLV) in 2020.”
If N. Korea has been able to loft payloads into orbit, Iran is not too far behind.
First footage of Iran's launch of Simorgh SLV today.
The rocket was reportedly carrying three payloads but given that the rocket reached 7,350 m/s, it's unlikely that they entered orbit. pic.twitter.com/rcsOPSvGrA
— Kian Sharifi (@KianSharifi) December 30, 2021