Posted on 03/08/2022 2:58:25 AM PST by Libloather
Iran announced Tuesday it had successfully placed a military satellite in orbit, as talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers reach a critical stage.
"Iran's second military satellite -- named Nour-2 -- has been launched into space by the Qassed rocket of the aerospace wing of the Revolutionary Guards and successfully placed in orbit 500 kilometres (310 miles) above the Earth," the official IRNA news agency reported.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the Nour-2 as a "reconnaissance satellite" in a statement on its Sepah News website.
Iran successfully put its first military satellite into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from Washington.
Sepah News said Tuesday that the Nour-1 was "still fully operational and transmitting data".
The United States has repeatedly voiced concern that such launches could boost Iran's ballistic missile technology.
But Iran insists it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defensive purposes only.
At the end of December, Iran announced it had failed to put in orbit "three research cargos" carried by Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier as the rocket was unable to reach the required speed.
In January, Iran tested a solid-fuel rocket for its satellite programme, state media reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Once you are capable of putting a satellite into orbit, you are soon capable of putting a nuke into orbit and bringing it down anywhere- if it’s a polar orbit.
Take it out. An act of war? Yes but they’re at war with us. Been at it since ‘79. At least it won’t kill anyone.
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