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Iran on Saturday blasted a new research satellite into orbit, state media said, in the latest such development for an aerospace program that has long faced Western criticism.<\/p>\n
“The Chamran-1 research satellite was successfully launched and put into orbit by the Ghaem-100 carrier,” state television said.<\/p>\n
The satellite, which weighs around 60 kilograms (132 pounds), is designed to test hardware and software systems for orbital maneuver technology, the TV report said.<\/p>\n
The device was designed and built by Iranian Electronics Industries affiliated with the defense ministry, state TV said.<\/p>\n
Western governments including the United States have repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.<\/p>\n
Iran has countered that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defense purposes only.<\/p>\n
The Ghaem-100 rocket which carried the latest satellite is manufactured by the aerospace organization of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, an arm of the military.<\/p>\n
The carrier is the country’s first three-stage solid-fuel satellite launcher, and official media reported its use in January to send a satellite for the first time into an orbit above 500 kilometers (310 miles).<\/p>\n
Iran has for years been advancing its aerospace activities, insisting they are peaceful and in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.<\/p>\n
In February, Russia put into orbit an Iranian remote sensing and imaging satellite, drawing condemnation from the United States.<\/p>\n
At the time, Iran’s telecommunications minister said Iran had carried out a dozen satellite launches over the previous two years.<\/p>\n
Iran in January said it simultaneously sent three satellites into orbit, nearly a week after the launch of a research satellite by the Guards.<\/p>\n
The Islamic republic has struggled with several satellite launch failures in the past.<\/p>\n
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, especially after its arch-foe the United States, under then-president Donald Trump, in 2018 unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.<\/p>\n
Iran on Thursday summoned four European ambassadors after they imposed new sanctions over its alleged supply of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Tehran denies.<\/p>\n
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