Iran claims it just launched a second satellite into space. Maybe the mullahs are just bragging. If not, expect some renewed fretting over their missile capabilities.
Iran's official mouthpiece, Fars News, reported on Thursday that the country sent a homemade satellite into orbit, marking the second launch by the Islamic Republic since 2009.
The "pride-inspiring technicians of IRI Aerospace Org (IAO) successfully launched Iran's Rasad satellite into earth space Wednesday evening," according to Fars. Rasad (meaning "observation") is a small image-gathering satellite that weighs in at a relatively light 15.3 kilograms or roughly 34 lbs. It made its trip up into orbit atop a Safir rocket and is supposed to send back imagery and telemetry data.
The significance of the satellite launch doesn't so much lie in the demonstration of Iran's satellite technology, but in showing off the country's apparent missile prowess. The technology that can launch a satellite into space is also useful for building longer range missiles. It's that kind of dual-use potential that gets American defense planners' attention. Fears of an emerging Iranian missile capability have motivated the U.S. to push for a missile shield that could intercept Iranian or North Korean ballistic missiles headed towards Europe.
In the past, Iran had to rely on Russia to put its spy satellite, Sina-1, into space. But in 2009, the Islamic Republic managed to launch the Omid (meaning "hope") satellite all by itself, forming a milestone in the country's space program. To get Omid into orbit Iran used the Safir-2 rocket, a two-stage, 72-foot-long, 26-ton tricked out version of Iran's Shahab-3 missile.
Before you cancel that European vacation or start building a bomb shelter, it's worth taking Iran's boasts with a grain of salt. While Iran has cooked up some indigenous weaponry over the years, its desire to puff out its chest and pronounce immunity from the effects of international sanctions has led to some absurd exaggerations and outright lies. Iran has used Photoshop to make its missile launches look more fearsome, welded oil drums together to look like advanced air defense systems and talked up its the allegedly homemade S-300 air defense missile.
Even if Rasad actually made it to space, it probably had a bumpy ride. Globalsecurity.org's Charles Vick tells the New York Times that the launch has taken the Iranians "far longer than they advertised" because of sanctions and management issues.
What's next for the Iranian missiles? They'll be fitted with an unconventional payload: Primate astronauts. Iran's space agency also announced Thursday that it plans to send a monkey into space this summer inside a capsule launched by its Kavoshgar-5 rocket.
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