Iran Satellite Launch Ends in Disappointment

By Amir Havasi

Iran said it "successfully" launched a satellite Sunday but failed to put it into orbit, in a blow to its space programme that the US alleges is a cover for missile development.

The attempted launch of the Zafar—"Victory" in Persian—comes days before the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and crucial parliamentary elections in Iran.

Arch foes Iran and the United States have appeared to be on the brink of an all-out confrontation twice in the past seven months.

Long-standing acrimony between Tehran and Washington was exacerbated in 2018 when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a deal that froze Iran's nuclear programme, before issuing new demands that Tehran curtail its development of ballistic missiles.

Washington has also raised concerns in the past about Tehran's satellite programme, saying the launch of a carrier rocket in January 2019 amounted to a violation of limits on its ballistic missiles.

Iran maintains it has no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons, and says its aerospace activities are peaceful and comply with a UN Security Council resolution.

On Sunday, it launched the Zafar satellite at 7:15 pm (1545 GMT) but it fell short of reaching orbit, the defence ministry said.

A ministry spokesman said initially that the satellite was "successfully" launched and went "90 percent of the way", reaching an altitude of 540 kilometres (335 miles).

"The Simorgh (rocket) successfully propelled the Zafar satellite into space," said Ahmad Hosseini of the ministry's space unit.

"Unfortunately, in the final moments the carrier did not reach the required speed" to put it into orbit, he told state television.

"God willing with improvements made in future launches this part of the mission will be done as well," he added.

"We achieved most of the goals we had and data has been acquired, and in the near future, by analysing the data, we will take the next steps."

Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi admitted in an English-language tweet soon after that the launch had "failed".

"But We're UNSTOPPABLE! We have more Upcoming Great Iranian Satellites!" said Jahromi.

Tweeting in Farsi, he added: "I would have liked to make you happy with #good_news but sometimes life does not go the way we want it."

'New Generation'

Iran on Sunday also unveiled a new a short-range ballistic missile and its "new generation" of engines designed to put satellites into space.

The Revolutionary Guards' website said the Raad-500 missile was equipped with new Zoheir engines made of composite materials that make them lighter than previous steel models.

It also unveiled Salman engines made of the same materials but with a "movable nozzle" for the delivery of satellites into space, allowing "manoeuvrability beyond the atmosphere".

In January 2019, Tehran announced that its Payam—"Message" in Farsi—satellite had failed to reach orbit, after authorities said they launched it to collect data on the environment in Iran.

The United States said the launch of the carrier rocket was a violation of a 2015 UN Security Council resolution endorsing the international accord on curbing Tehran's nuclear programme.

Resolution 2231 called on Iran to refrain from any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Cyber Attacks

Tehran confirmed in September that an explosion had taken place at one of its satellite launch pads due to a technical fault, and slammed Trump for "gleefully" tweeting about it at the time.

Trump said the US had nothing to do with what he called a "catastrophic accident" at Semnan Space Centre, also tweeting a high-resolution picture pointing to apparent damage at the site.

Sunday's developments come at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, after a January 3 US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Iran retaliated days later by firing a wave of missiles at American troops stationed in Iraq.

Its defence forces had been braced for US retaliation when they accidentally shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight a few minutes after take-off from Tehran on January 8.

Iran says its internet services have faced cyber attacks for the past two days, without elaborating on the source of the attack or the likely motives.

The country's on-off space programme unsettles some Western nations as the technology used in space-bound rockets can also be used in ballistic missiles.

The Islamic republic has successfully launched several satellites since February 2009.

It has also sent monkeys, a turtle, mouse and worms into space.

Photo: IRNA

US Imposes Sanctions on Iran Space Program

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Iran's space program, saying that a recent explosion on a launch pad was a sign of missile work.

"The United States will not allow Iran to use its space launch program as cover to advance its ballistic missile programs," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"Iran's August 29 attempt to launch a space launch vehicle underscores the urgency of the threat," he said.

Pompeo said that the United States was imposing sanctions on the Iran Space Agency as well as two affiliated research centers.

Under the orders, all US citizens or residents would be held criminally responsible for interacting with Iran's space program.

"These designations should serve as a warning to the international scientific community that collaborating with Iran's space program could contribute to Tehran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon delivery system.

President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted a high-resolution picture pointing to damage at a satellite launch pad and said the United States had nothing to do with it.

The tweet gathered wide attention not only for Trump's denial but due to speculation the president was taking to his favorite medium to show US intelligence that was likely classified.

While Trump focused on denying a role by the United States—which has widely been reported to have used clandestine means to set back Iranian military development—Pompeo said that the launch showed a threat from Iran.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei on Monday confirmed an explosion at a satellite launch pad in the north of the country and blamed a technical fault.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Satellite in US Row Fails to Reach Orbit

Iran launched a satellite criticized by the United States as a breach of a UN resolution on Tuesday but it failed to reach orbit, the telecommunications minister said.

Iran's arch foe Israel swiftly condemned the launch, which it charged was cover for the testing of the first stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"The Payam satellite was successfully launched this morning with the Safir satellite carrier," Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi told state television.

"But the satellite unfortunately failed to be placed in orbit in the final stage."

The Payam (Message in Persian) and its launch vehicle had gone through successful testing of its first and second stages, the minister said.

But in the actual launch, the satellite failed to reach the required speed on detachment from the rocket in the third stage.

Both the Payam and its carrier were designed and produced at Tehran's Amirkabir University of Technology.

University head Ahmad Motamedi said Amirkabir had already received an order for a replacement, Mehr news agency reported.

Iran also plans to launch another low Earth orbit satellite, the Doosti (Friendship in Persian), Jahromi said.

He did not give a date for the launch but said the satellite was intended to orbit the earth at an altitude of 250 kilometres (156 miles).

"We will do our best to place it in the orbit," he said.

Iran has said repeatedly that its space program, like its wider ballistic missile programme, is for scientific research and defense purposes only. 

The Payam and the Doosti were both designed to gather information on environmental change in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday.

"The satellite will give us all the information we need, and we will prove to the world that we are a country of science," Rouhani said.

But Israel and its US ally both claim the space program is cover for the development of longer-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

"Iran is lying now that it launched an innocent satellite to space," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the abortive launch.

"It actually wants to achieve the first stage of an intercontinental missile, in violation of all international agreements," he told a ceremony in Tel Aviv for the investiture of new armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi.

"We fully support the United State's firm objection to this act of aggression," he added.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran's plans to send satellites into orbit would violate the UN Security Council resolution that endorsed a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Tehran.

Tehran reined in most of its nuclear program under the deal, since abandoned by Washington last year, but has continued to develop its ballistic missile and rocket technology. 

Security Council Resolution 2231 calls on Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, but does not specifically bar Tehran from missile or rocket launches.

Washington says the space launches violate the resolution.

Iran's satellite-delivery rockets use technology "virtually identical" to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, Pompeo said on January 3.

“The United States will not stand by and watch the Iranian regime's destructive policies place international stability and security at risk."

Tehran denied the planned launch was a violation of Resolution 2231.

"The satellite is part of a civil project with purely scientific aims, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

"Iran will wait for no country's permission to conduct such scientific projects."

The Payam satellite, first designed over a decade ago, was initially expected to be launched on a foreign-manufactured rocket, project manager Mostafa Safavi told ISNA in an interview published just hours before the launch.

"The Payam is a non-military satellite with a non-military mission but some countries, thinking that it could have a military purpose, showed no enthusiasm for launching Iranian satellites," Safavi said. 

"When they did not cooperate for non-technical reasons, the satellite's specifications were altered and made ready for a domestic launcher," he added.

Iran has launched several short-life  satellites into orbit over the past decade, including the Simorgh and the Pajouhesh.

Photo Credit: IRNA

US Warns Iran Against Space Launch

The United States on Thursday warned Iran of consequences if it goes ahead with plans to send off three space launch vehicles, charging despite Tehran's denials that the move would violate a UN resolution.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran's satellite-delivery rockets used technology "virtually identical" to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, which could eventually include long-range missiles capable of reaching the United States.

"The United States will not stand by and watch the Iranian regime's destructive policies place international stability and security at risk," Pompeo said in a statement.

"We advise the regime to reconsider these provocative launches and cease all activities related to ballistic missiles in order to avoid deeper economic and diplomatic isolation," he said.

Pompeo said that an Iranian launch would defy UN Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015, which endorsed an international accord on ending the clerical regime's nuclear program and called on Tehran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."

US President Donald Trump last year walked out of the Iran deal, which was negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, instead reimposing sweeping sanctions aimed at crippling the country's economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied Pompeo's charges, saying that neither space launches nor missile tests—which Iran says are vital for defense and not nuclear in nature—violated Resolution 2231.

"The US is in material breach of same, & as such it is in no position to lecture anyone on it," he tweeted, referring to the US rejection of the UN-endorsed denuclearization pact.

Iran's deputy defense minister, Brigadier General Ghasem Taghizadeh, said in November that Tehran would launch three satellites into space "in the coming months."

"These satellites have been built with native know-how and will be positioned in different altitudes," he said, as quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iran has seen economic potential in developing a satellite program, which could build a needed revenue source and also be used for espionage.

But US intelligence has said that the technology could easily be converted to long-range missiles.

Photo Credit: IRNA