Tweet
Iran wants to send man into space
State TV says Iran's space agency aims to send an astronaut to space within 10 years.
Iran has stepped up its space ambitions in recent years, worrying world leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
On Sunday, Iran test-fired a rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit. The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday that an Iranian carrier rocket, Safir, had successfully orbited the country's first domestically built satellite, called Omid (Hope).
The satellite will aid natural- disaster-management programs and improve telecommunications.
Iran says it has successfully test-launched a rocket capable of carrying a domestically-built satellite into space.
Officials say Sunday's launch sent the satellite-carrier rocket known as Safir, or Ambassador into orbit from an Iranian space center. The officials corrected earlier reports in the Iranian media that said the rocket sent a domestic satellite into space.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe says the Iranian rocket launch is troubling because the technology could be diverted to ballistic missiles. He says Iran's actions are inconsistent with its United Nations Security Council obligations.
Iranian media say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the launch. State television broadcast video of a rocket heading into space.
Tehran says its space program is aimed at launching research and telecommunications satellites into orbit. In February, Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite into space.
In another development, Iran's air force commander said Sunday that Tehran has upgraded its warplanes to fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling. Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani did not specify the type of aircraft or say how the range was extended.
Israel is about 1,000 kilometers away from Iran. Iranian leaders have frequently called for the Jewish state's destruction. Israel refuses to rule out military action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran outlines its ambitious plans for space exploration and a manned launch in next decade
As more nations enter space, the head of the Iran Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) announced the country’s plans to send an astronaut into space within the next 10 years. Reza Taghipour announced the AIO will outline specific goals within the next six months, and said sending a man to space is "one of the country's priorities for the next 10 years."
"In accordance with a program we have developed, by 2021 Iran is to become the leading space power in the region," Taghipour announced during a press conference.
To prepare for its ambitious space program, the country will launch several domestic satellites into orbit in the next two years. The satellites will help provide natural disaster management, telecommunications and other basic uses. The Iranian space technology has been created mainly in-house, with the nation specifically focused on creating rockets able to carry satellites into orbit.
Iran recently claimed it launched a dummy satellite into orbit, but several nations, including the U.S., said the test was unsuccessful. Many nations are already concerned about a growing Iranian nuclear program, and a successful satellite launch will only add to concerns from the U.S., Great Britain, and other nations. Specifically, President Bush and U.S. military experts have shown concern that the rocket technology to launch satellites could be converted for possible military use, although Iranian space officials downplayed these concerns.
Only a small handful of nations have successfully launched satellites into orbit on their own, with regional rival India recently joining the select group. Furthermore, only the U.S., China and Russia have been able to launch manned missions on their own, however, India and Japan also have plans to launch manned missions in the future.
Iran has been working on its space program for the past few years, although has not had much to show for the program as of yet.
Iran's attempted satellite launch was a failure that fell far short of claimed successes, U.S. security officials said on Tuesday, but an analyst said the test still marked progress toward a potential weapon.
"The attempted launch failed," a U.S. intelligence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure."
A U.S. defense official gave a similar characterization of the test as unsuccessful.
But Charles Vick, a senior analyst for GlobalSecurity.org research group, said Iran appeared to have succeeded in igniting the second stage of its booster rocket and gained data that will help it perfect its launch system. The technology could also be used to develop a rocket capable of carrying nuclear weapons that could strike Europe or China, he said.
He based his assessments of the test on photographs, public reporting and earlier analyses.
"They're not there yet and that's to be expected but this is a step forward that has implications strategically," Vick said.
Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, said on Sunday it has put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time.
Iran denies Western accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons and says that it seeks nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Iranian television showed the rocket on its launch pad but did not show the actual lift-off.
Iran gave no description of the satellite's orbit, an indication it did not reach orbit but failed some time earlier, Vick said.
'NASCENT STAGES'
"The failed launch shows that the purported Iranian space program is in its nascent stages at best -- they have a long way to go," the U.S. intelligence official said.
The test follows what appeared to be an unannounced test failure of the same Safir vehicle in February, Vick said. That was followed on the same day by the successful launch of another rocket in its space program.
The White House has called on Iran to stop testing ballistic missiles.
"The Iranian development and testing of rockets is troubling and raises further questions about their intentions," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Sunday.
The latest Iranian test was observed from a U.S. ship somewhere in the Gulf region and was headed toward the Indian Ocean, Vick said. He said the second stage ignited before another failure brought the rocket down -- a step forward from the February test. Where it came down was unclear.
Vick said he had earlier identified seven flaws in the rocket design, which he declined to specify, and just one of them appeared clearly to have been fixed in the latest test. However, it appeared the dummy satellite was a flight-recorder box that sent back information to the launch officials.
"What Iran has said, in effect, they understand what went wrong from the telemetry dump that took place."
"That will probably key them into some of the issues of the design flaws," he said.
Despite the setback, Iran appeared within "reasonable striking distance" of meeting a previously stated goal of putting a domestically made research satellite into orbit by next March, Vick said.
Another U.S. official noted that the United States, China, the Soviet Union and India had all experienced launch failures on the way to successful space technology development.
"It does telegraph a message about their ability, even if it's on a very limited basis, to marshal a technology to produce a result," said the official.
Iran has stepped up its space ambitions in recent years, worrying world leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
On Sunday, Iran test-fired a rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit. The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday that an Iranian carrier rocket, Safir, had successfully orbited the country's first domestically built satellite, called Omid (Hope).
The satellite will aid natural- disaster-management programs and improve telecommunications.
Iran says it has successfully test-launched a rocket capable of carrying a domestically-built satellite into space.
Officials say Sunday's launch sent the satellite-carrier rocket known as Safir, or Ambassador into orbit from an Iranian space center. The officials corrected earlier reports in the Iranian media that said the rocket sent a domestic satellite into space.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe says the Iranian rocket launch is troubling because the technology could be diverted to ballistic missiles. He says Iran's actions are inconsistent with its United Nations Security Council obligations.
Iranian media say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the launch. State television broadcast video of a rocket heading into space.
Tehran says its space program is aimed at launching research and telecommunications satellites into orbit. In February, Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite into space.
In another development, Iran's air force commander said Sunday that Tehran has upgraded its warplanes to fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling. Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani did not specify the type of aircraft or say how the range was extended.
Israel is about 1,000 kilometers away from Iran. Iranian leaders have frequently called for the Jewish state's destruction. Israel refuses to rule out military action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran outlines its ambitious plans for space exploration and a manned launch in next decade
As more nations enter space, the head of the Iran Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) announced the country’s plans to send an astronaut into space within the next 10 years. Reza Taghipour announced the AIO will outline specific goals within the next six months, and said sending a man to space is "one of the country's priorities for the next 10 years."
"In accordance with a program we have developed, by 2021 Iran is to become the leading space power in the region," Taghipour announced during a press conference.
To prepare for its ambitious space program, the country will launch several domestic satellites into orbit in the next two years. The satellites will help provide natural disaster management, telecommunications and other basic uses. The Iranian space technology has been created mainly in-house, with the nation specifically focused on creating rockets able to carry satellites into orbit.
Iran recently claimed it launched a dummy satellite into orbit, but several nations, including the U.S., said the test was unsuccessful. Many nations are already concerned about a growing Iranian nuclear program, and a successful satellite launch will only add to concerns from the U.S., Great Britain, and other nations. Specifically, President Bush and U.S. military experts have shown concern that the rocket technology to launch satellites could be converted for possible military use, although Iranian space officials downplayed these concerns.
Only a small handful of nations have successfully launched satellites into orbit on their own, with regional rival India recently joining the select group. Furthermore, only the U.S., China and Russia have been able to launch manned missions on their own, however, India and Japan also have plans to launch manned missions in the future.
Iran has been working on its space program for the past few years, although has not had much to show for the program as of yet.
Iran's attempted satellite launch was a failure that fell far short of claimed successes, U.S. security officials said on Tuesday, but an analyst said the test still marked progress toward a potential weapon.
"The attempted launch failed," a U.S. intelligence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure."
A U.S. defense official gave a similar characterization of the test as unsuccessful.
But Charles Vick, a senior analyst for GlobalSecurity.org research group, said Iran appeared to have succeeded in igniting the second stage of its booster rocket and gained data that will help it perfect its launch system. The technology could also be used to develop a rocket capable of carrying nuclear weapons that could strike Europe or China, he said.
He based his assessments of the test on photographs, public reporting and earlier analyses.
"They're not there yet and that's to be expected but this is a step forward that has implications strategically," Vick said.
Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, said on Sunday it has put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time.
Iran denies Western accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons and says that it seeks nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Iranian television showed the rocket on its launch pad but did not show the actual lift-off.
Iran gave no description of the satellite's orbit, an indication it did not reach orbit but failed some time earlier, Vick said.
'NASCENT STAGES'
"The failed launch shows that the purported Iranian space program is in its nascent stages at best -- they have a long way to go," the U.S. intelligence official said.
The test follows what appeared to be an unannounced test failure of the same Safir vehicle in February, Vick said. That was followed on the same day by the successful launch of another rocket in its space program.
The White House has called on Iran to stop testing ballistic missiles.
"The Iranian development and testing of rockets is troubling and raises further questions about their intentions," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Sunday.
The latest Iranian test was observed from a U.S. ship somewhere in the Gulf region and was headed toward the Indian Ocean, Vick said. He said the second stage ignited before another failure brought the rocket down -- a step forward from the February test. Where it came down was unclear.
Vick said he had earlier identified seven flaws in the rocket design, which he declined to specify, and just one of them appeared clearly to have been fixed in the latest test. However, it appeared the dummy satellite was a flight-recorder box that sent back information to the launch officials.
"What Iran has said, in effect, they understand what went wrong from the telemetry dump that took place."
"That will probably key them into some of the issues of the design flaws," he said.
Despite the setback, Iran appeared within "reasonable striking distance" of meeting a previously stated goal of putting a domestically made research satellite into orbit by next March, Vick said.
Another U.S. official noted that the United States, China, the Soviet Union and India had all experienced launch failures on the way to successful space technology development.
"It does telegraph a message about their ability, even if it's on a very limited basis, to marshal a technology to produce a result," said the official.
Comment