This is insanity!
Posted on 02/02/2005 3:59:57 PM PST by TapTheSource
Russia to launch spy satellites for Iran
By Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW, FEB. 2. Russia will launch two spy and one telecommunications satellites for Iran in what may be a sign of strengthening strategic tie-up between the two countries.
The Russian military space forces this year will place two Iranian remote earth-probe (reconnaissance) satellites to geo-stationary orbits, a Russian business daily reported today. The satellites, Italian-built Mesbah and indigenous Sinah-1 will be lifted by the Russian Kosmos-3M booster from the Russian military space port, Plisetsk, in the second quarter of 2005, the Kommersant daily reported.
Russia will also build and launch a geo-stationary telecom satellite, Zohreh (Venus), for Iran under a $132-million deal signed earlier this week in Teheran. Moscow will also help the Islamic Republic in setting up two ground control stations and train local personnel.
Unlike the Zohreh contract, the deal for the launch of the two spy satellites, named Mesbah and Sinah-1, has not been made public. However, the Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, signed a directive last month permitting the Russian Defence Ministry to launch "scientific" satellites for several countries, including two for Iran. The orbiting of two spy satellites will enable Iran to monitor the Persian Gulf and the territory of Israel for possible threats to its security.
Expansion
The expansion of the Russian-Iranian cooperation into space is bound to enrage the United States. Washington has been pushing Moscow — in vain so far — to freeze the construction of a nuclear power station in Bushehr.
A day after Russia and Iran signed the satellite deal, the U.S. Undersecretary of State, John Bolton, said Israel could shortly deliver a strike at Iranian nuclear facilities and did not rule out any U.S. options regarding on Iran.
ping!
Time to dust off those old ASATs..
Time for a little "shop accident". You know those rockets don't react too well to the cold :-)
The Putin fans sure are quiet. This is a new strategic challenge for Israel and the US. We need to hit them now. Its no longer a matter of just nukes. Muslims with ELINT and Reconsats is not a good thing.
...and what the heck is Italy thinking?!?!? We should all be following this story very closely. Are they working with Iran and Russia against the US, Israel, and the rest of Europe for that matter?
Aren't we lucky to have such good friends? No?
That's all we need, crazy Islamofascists with nukes and satellites.
What if something happened to their satellites in the sky, if they were to "fall" out of orbit?
ping!
Gee, ya think??? (author has a keen sense of the bleedin' obvious).
I was thinking the same thing. Possibly a technical malfunction shortly after liftoff causing a catastrophic failure....oops.
This is insanity!
I say it was good timing on Bush's part to get Condi in there as Sec. of State. If anyone can stand up to Vlad, it's those two.
Keep your eyes on HAARP during launch - let's see if the stratosphere and ionosphere remain at their normal altitudes or not.
Israel has no right to be pissed at Russia for this. After all, Israel is China's #2 weapons supplier, so stop worrying about their feelings. If they'll sell us out to the ChiComs, they deserve what they get.
Looks like Poot's putting "the old gang" back together, huh?
You could say that. The one good thing about Yeltsin was he was too plastered to have a Main Enemy :-)
No wonder Iran is so arrogant...they are being courted by both Russia and China.
Must admit...this move by Russia at this time is a bit surprising.
The world is getting very dangerous...lots of chess pieces being moved.
The question then becomes whether Russia and China have also struck some kind of 'special' deal.
That would be too much of a tip-off (then again, I prefer the direct, break it permanently approach).
good point. False or delayed data streams.
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