It reached space "successfully" but failed to enter orbit. Iranian-made observation satellite Zafar was launched into space on Sunday (February 9th), "but the launcher did not reach the speed necessary to put the satellite into the desired orbit," said Ahmad Hosseini, spokesperson. word from the Iranian Ministry of Defense, quoted by a state television channel.
Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi admitted on Twitter that the launch "had failed". "But we are invulnerable! We have other great Iranian satellites to come!", He added.
Today "Zafar" satellite launch failed. Like many scientific projects, Failure happened. FALCON 9, Juno II, ATLAS, PROTON M, ANTARES are just few samples of US launch failures.
But We're UNSTOPPABLE! We have more Upcoming Great Iranian Satellites! đź›°
The satellite was launched at 7.15 p.m. and reached "90% of its planned trajectory" at a height of 540 kilometers, said the Minister of Defense.
"We have achieved most of the goals we had and acquired data, and in the near future, by analyzing this data, we will take the next steps," he said.
A "provocation" for the United States
Weighing 113 kilos and capable of circling the Earth 15 times a day, the Zafar was to be placed into orbit by the Simorgh launcher. According to Iranian authorities, it was designed to be operational "more than 18 months".
Its "main mission will be to collect images," the head of the National Space Agency, Mortéza Bérari, told AFP on February 1. He stressed Iran's needs in this area, in particular to study and prevent earthquakes, "prevent natural disasters" and develop its agriculture.
Described as "provocation" by the United States, this launch comes in the context of increased tensions between Tehran and Washington since the unilateral withdrawal of the United States in May 2018 from an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program followed by the reinstatement of American sanctions. draconian against the Islamic Republic.
With AFP
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