Iran simply despatched its third navy satellite tv for pc to orbit.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a department of the nation’s armed forces, launched the Noor 3 spacecraft atop a three-stage Qasem rocket on Wednesday (Sept. 27), based on state media.
These reviews have been confirmed by the U.S. House Power, which catalogued two objects — possible the satellite tv for pc and the rocket’s higher stage — in a roughly 280-mile-high (450 kilometers) orbit.
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Noor 3 is an imaging satellite tv for pc, based on Reuters. The spacecraft’s two predecessors, Noor 1 and Noor 2, launched in April 2020 and March 2022, respectively, additionally atop Qased rockets.
Noor 1 fell again to Earth in April 2022, however Noor 2 stays operational — and may match in live performance with Noor 3 when the latter satellite tv for pc comes on-line.
“Notable that Noor 3 was launched to the *present* altitude of Noor 2, not its unique altitude [of about 310 miles, or 500 km]. The 2 sats are in roughly the identical orbital aircraft, suggesting they might work collectively. In distinction, Noor 1 was already on its option to reentry when Noor 2 was launched,” astrophysicist and satellite tv for pc tracker Jonathan McDowell wrote through X (previously often called Twitter) on Wednesday.
Notable that Noor 3 was launched to the *present* altitude of Noor 2, not its unique altitude. The 2 sats are in roughly the identical orbital aircraft, suggesting they might work collectively. In distinction, Noor 1 was already on its option to reentry when Noor 2 was launched pic.twitter.com/S5dqol5dpRSeptember 27, 2023
The US and its allies watch Iran’s launch exercise vigilantly, as a result of rockets that loft satellites are shut cousins of missiles that may ship weapons — together with nuclear warheads — lengthy distances. Iran, for its half, claims that its satellite tv for pc launches are for peaceable functions solely.
Iran isn’t identified to own nuclear weapons, but it surely does have sufficient extremely enriched uranium to construct a handful of atomic bombs, based on the United Nations.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran for the reason that 1979 revolution, which resulted within the institution of a theocratic regime. Certainly, the Biden administration imposed a brand new spherical of sanctions earlier this month, “concentrating on a number of folks and entities in Iran, Russia, China and Turkey in reference to Tehran’s drone and navy plane growth,” Reuters wrote.
