An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit on Sunday, state television reported, the latest setback for a program the US claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program.
The launch happened at 7:15pm at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan Province, about 230km southeast of Tehran.
A Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket could not put the Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit, due to a low speed, Iranian state TV reported.
Photo: EPA-EFE / IRIB HANDOUT
“Stage-1 and stage-2 motors of the carrier functioned properly and the satellite was successfully detached from its carrier, but at the end of its path it did not reach the required speed for being put in the orbit,” Iranian Ministry of Defense space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state TV.
Hosseini still sought to portray the failure as a “remarkable” achievement for its space program.
Previous Simorgh launches of the satellite carrier suffered other failures.
In the days leading up to the launch, officials had been promoting the mission, including Iranian Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi.
His quick rise through the Islamic Republic’s carefully managed political system already is generating speculation he could be a candidate for Iran’s presidential campaign next year.
Jahromi acknowledged the unsuccessful launch in a tweet shortly after the news broke on state TV, comparing it to a “few samples of US launch failures.”
“But We’re UNSTOPPABLE! We have more Upcoming Great Iranian Satellites!” Jahromi tweeted in English, including a satellite emoji.
He later tweeted in Farsi that “sometimes life does not go the way we like it to go,” adding: “Please do not pay attention to fake news.”
The launch had been planned amid celebrations ahead of this month’s anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran routinely unveils technological achievements for its armed forces, its space program and its nuclear efforts during this time.
Satellite images by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies obtained by The Associated Press showed the launch tower for the rocket bore massive images of the revolution’s leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran spent just under 2 million euros (US$2.2 million) to build the Zafar 1, Jahromi previously said
Officials planned for the satellite, whose name means “victory” in Farsi, to remain in orbit for 18 months before crashing back through the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrating.
The US says the satellite launches defy a UN resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
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