SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Iran satellite launch in early June failed: Pentagon
Washington, June 23 (AFP) Jun 23, 2021
Iran failed in an attempt to launch a satellite into space in early June and apparently plans a new launch, according to the US Defense Department and images of the Iranian space center in Semnan province seen Wednesday.

"US Space Command is aware of the Iranian rocket launch failure which occurred early June 12th," said Pentagon spokesperson Uriah Orland.

No explanation was offered for why the launch failed and Iran rejected the original report of it by CNN, saying its satellites remain on the ground.

"The two satellites of the ministry of telecommunications (Nahid and Pars) are at the space organisation," Iran's telecoms minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

"I saw in the news this morning that they were launched 10 days ago," he said.

CNN cited experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California as saying that satellite images of the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan suggested a new launch attempt would be made in the near future.

Images from June 19 and 20 by Planet Labs show fuel tanks and support vehicles appearing to ready for a launch, the Middlebury experts told CNN.

Orland said Iran's last space launch took place in April 2020, placing a microsatellite, NOUR-1, into orbit.

But from the beginning, US officials said that satellite appeared to have problems.

"However, our persistent observations of this object demonstrate it is uncontrolled and not operational," Orland said.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Young magmas on the came from much shallower depths
JunoCam revived by onboard heat treatment just in time for Io flyby
CTAO telescope uncovers fresh evidence for layered jet structures in historic gamma ray burst

24/7 Energy News Coverage
States legally obligated to tackle climate change: ICJ
Viasat unveils IoT Nano service for global low-power connectivity
Xi says China, EU must deepen trust but bloc chief urges 'real solutions'

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Trump's AI plan prioritizes deregulation to boost US dominance
Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets and rockets in deadly border row
US approves $322 mn in arms sales to Ukraine; German government moves to speed up military procurement

24/7 News Coverage
World's top court paves way for climate reparations
Pacific climate pioneer still fears for island nation's future
China hails 'positive' ICJ ruling on climate reparations



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.