Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully launched and placed the country’s first military satellite into the orbit.
The elite force fired the satellite — dubbed Nour (Light)-1 — aboard Qased (Carrier) satellite carrier during an operation that was staged in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s sprawling central desert, on Wednesday, the Corps’ Sepah News reported.
The satellite was placed into the orbit 425 kilometers above Earth’s surface.
The Tasnim News Agency, meanwhile, carried a report outlining some details of the launch and the country’s space activities.
The report described Nour-1 as Iran’s first multi-purpose satellite with application in the defense industry among other areas.
The launch operation, it noted, was carried out by the IRGC’s Aerospace Division from a launch station situated in the desert plain’s Shahroud region.
The report specified Qased as the country’s first three-stage satellite launcher to successfully pass all its tests.
The agency said the country’s aerospace program was expected to gather pace following the launch.
Over the next several years, it said, the country was expected to deploy its military space activities towards taking care of its relevant telecommunication purposes, including promotion of reconnaissance and safe communication capabilities.
‘IRGC now a space force’
Speaking on the launch, IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami said, “Today, we can observe the world from space,” congratulating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian people on the Islamic establishment’s achievement.
The launch, he said, served as an acknowledgment of the “empowerment approach” that has been advised by the Leader.
General Salami noted that the development showed that the Islamic Republic was capable of securing “remarkable” achievements that warranted international acclaim in whatever area that the country would choose to explore.
“The satellite’s successful launch enhanced new aspects of the Islamic Republic’s defensive might. By God’s grace, the Corps turned into a space force today,” the commander said.
General Salami further characterized the achievement as a strategic gain that expanded “the realm of our capabilities.” Setting foot in the space was a “necessity” for a powerful defense force like the IRGC, he added.
The success translates into a “mutation” in expansion of the country’s intelligence reach and command, General Salami said, noting that the orbiter could now come to the country’s assistance in “intelligence warfare.”
Salami hailed that all the components of both the satellite and the carrier had been produced indigenously and despite the US’s sanctions.
The launch conveys the message that not only have the sanctions failed to impede Iran’s progress, but have also “turned on the engine propelling the novel technologies that turn us into a great power in the region and on the international stage in the foreseeable future,” the commander said.
Leader congratulates IRGC on founding anniversary
The announcement was made on the day when the elite military force is marking the anniversary of its establishment on April 22, 1979 upon an order by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.
Marking the occasion, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his gratitude towards the IRGC for its performance.
IRGC General Mohammad Shirazi, the head of the Leader’s Military Office, relayed the congratulatory message of the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Armed Forces to General Salami, the IRGC’s chief commander.
“Convey my regards to the IRGC personnel and their respectable families on the occasion of its founding anniversary,” the message noted. “I extend gratitude to them for their good performance and efforts. My prayers are with them.”
Press TV is a 24-hour English language news and documentary network, affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
IRIB is state-owned but independent of the Iranian government in its management and is the only legal TV and radio broadcaster inside Iran. IRIB’s head is appointed directly by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is considered to be close to the country’s conservative political faction. Press TV is headquartered in Tehran with offices and bureaus around the world; including London, Beirut, Damascus, Kabul, and the Gaza Strip.
*All posts on behalf of PressTV are made by Jim W. Dean
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Congratulations to Iran for this great achievement. This is indeed a great milestone for the Iranian Defence forces Intelligence group to gather real time images and intel from a much broader area. Thus they can now easily produce their own images without having to rely on other parties for information and images. For Iran to achieve this whilst under prolonged heavy-handed and detrimental sanctions speaks volumes of the determination and commitment of the Iranian people to overcome these hurdles to be able to pull off this feat. Like the first tedious steps into space for man many decades ago, Iran has undertaken a journey that will further see it’s nations border defenses tightened against US and Israel aggression. It may also come a long way an ability for the Iranian government to be able to disprove any propaganda/lies that may come from it’s enemies in any event. Overtime may we see Iran deploying more sophisticated spy satellites and also deploy satellites to aid in the general fields of weather observation, telecommunications and scientific observations.
Is the satellite in geosynchronous orbit that observes Occupied Palestine?
Comments are closed.