Posted on 02/02/2005 3:59:57 PM PST by TapTheSource
googled it
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Russia+to+launch+spy+satellites+for+Iran&btnG=Google+Search
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4381436.stm
OCTOBER 2005
A joint project between Iran and Russia, the Sina-1 satellite will be used to take pictures of Iran and to monitor natural disasters.
It blasted off aboard a Russian Kosmos 3M rocket early on Thursday morning.
The satellite was built for Iran by Polyot, a Russian company based in the Siberian city of Omsk.
As usual, this report is technically inept, or the Iranians are technically inept (likely)...in either case, I would seek better sources for information....If you are in this sort of business, you will understand, if your not, well, I cant tell you ;)
The Russians are just taking the Iranians money. They have reliable launchers for sale. Cant blame them for that. If the Iranians want to waste billions on crap satellites, let them.
Now if the Russians are going to "build" spy satellites for the Iranians, which I dont they they would, that would be a different story....Comm sats are one thing, and acceptable. But it would not be in Russia's interest to turn over to Iran or any other country at any price their most closely held technical jewels. So I have doubts thats whats going on here...
...but I would not confirm or deny that I know anything about this.
As a historical kind of thing, during the Korean war the USA was very concerned that the USSR would take Iran, which was a distinct possibility. The present situation doesn’t have that kind of danger, or so it appears from a spot on the planet approximately on the other side of the globe.
Russian, n. A person with a Caucasian body and a Mongolian soul. A Tartar Emetic. - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911.
"I know the Russians. They are great liars, clever cheaters, and magnificent actors. They cannot be trusted. They consider it their duty to cheat and lie." - Manlio Brosio, NATO Secretary General & Italian ambassador to Russia, 1967.
"To me [Khrushchev] came to be the embodiment of the almost untranslatable Russian adjective khitryi. According to the dictionary it means sly, cunning, artful, intricate or wily. But it really means more than this; it also means unscrupulous, smart, clever, quickwitted. Roll all these adjectives into one and you have the khitryi Khrushcheva bootlicker or a bully as circumstances required, a demagogue and opportunist always." - Former Ambassador to the Soviet Union Foy Kohler, Understanding the Russians, 1970.
"The policy of Russia is changeless.... its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy — world domination — is a fixed star." - Karl Marx, 1867.
"The Soviets are ruthless in the use of power; they are expert at digging graves for others." – Richard M. Nixon, The Real War, 1980.
"Those who get to the top in the Soviet system do so by being more cunning, more brutal, and more ruthless than their rivals." - Richard M. Nixon, The Real War, 1980.
"Somebody said the second most stupid thing in the world a man could say was that he could understand the Russians. I've often wondered what in the hell was the first." - Ronald Reagan.
"A recognition of what the Soviet empire is about is the starting point. Winston Churchill, in negotiating with the Soviets, observed that they respect only strength and resolve in their dealings with other nations. That's why we've moved to reconstruct our national defenses. We intend to keep the peace. We will also keep our freedom." - Ronald Reagan, State of the Union Address, January 26, 1982.
"The first characteristic of the Soviet Union is that it always adopts the attitude of bullying the soft and fearing the strong. The second characteristic of the Soviet Union is that it will go in and grab at every opportunity." - Deng Xiaoping, "An Interview with Deng Xiaoping," Time, February 5, 1979.
“...Now if the Russians are going to “build” spy satellites for the Iranians, ... that would be a different story....”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4381436.stm
OCTOBER 2005
A joint project between Iran and Russia,...It blasted off aboard a Russian Kosmos 3M rocket early on Thursday morning.
....
The satellite was built for Iran by Polyot, a Russian company based in the Siberian city of Omsk.
"Considering that the satellite weights 170kg and is carrying a camera, it is an initial model as far as technical know-how and experience are concerned."
This is more like a university project, not a spy satellite. They could buy or even get free imagery from Google Earth better than what they could get from this.
The Russians probably put the Iranian camera on one of their spacecraft buses. So they likely did not give them any leading edge spy tech, and the Iranians probably did not build the spacecraft, so they dont obtain that tech either.
I dont deny the Iranian intent. This is just a technical assessment from someone familiar with the business. I would still contend that the Russians are just cash starved and are happy to have the Iranians send cash their way, with very little gain for the Iranians. Given all the other open sources of imagery available today, I dont see this as a big deal, and its much less of concern to me than the Iranian nuclear and missile programs.
Thank you for the info...scientist I am not, so any help is welcomed. :)
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