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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran says it launched satellite |
| 2012-02-03 |
| Iran said Friday it launched a satellite into space carried by a homemade rocket. The launch, which had been announced months ago, comes at the start of a series of festivities celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution on Feb. 11. It also comes at a time of high tensions between Iran and the United States and Israel, with the latter pushing for strikes against Iran’s nuclear program. The state-run TV reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched the rocket carrying the Navid Elm o Sanat (“Good message of science and industry”) satellite. According to the TV, the satellite carries camera and telecommunication devices and is completely designed and produced in the Islamic republic. The microsatellite, which weighs 110 pounds, will orbit the earth at an altitude of up to 234 miles, the Associated Press reported, citing the Islamic Republic News Agency. Iranian officials announced in November that they planned to launch three satellites, including Navid, in the early weeks of 2012. The country’s space agency is also planning to set up a launch site, together with the ministry of defence, in the southeastern region of the country. Iran’s space program is controversial, as western nation’s fear the rockets can be used for regional attacks and — if the country were to produce a nuclear weapon — be fitted with a nuclear warhead. Iran had repeatedly stated that its missile program is for defensive purposes only. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 geebus, I thought there were two! If they allied and cooperated, we were all doomed! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-02-03 22:50 |
| #10 Doubled comment deleted, JosephM. Glad to know that was you. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-02-03 22:26 |
| #9 Sorry, SKYNET-NATRIX, what can I say. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-02-03 22:03 |
| #8 See also RIAN > IRAN TO SET UP SPACE LAUNCH BASE, in the country's SE adjacent next to the Sea of Oman + Indian Ocean. ARTIC = Iran hopes to send up its first man or men into space [orbital mission only?] come 2019. HMMMM, HMMMM, dare IRAN = CHINA [Xinjiang/West China] = BASE THE BULK OF ITS FUTURE STRATEGIC NUKE MISSLE + SPACE LAUNCH ASSETS, ETC. IN SE IRAN??? SEA OF OMAN = Weirdly + mysteriously aka WHERE IRAN CAN PREEMPTIVELY STRIKE US CVNS + EBGS??? Just sayin. * FYI SAME > As per RosCosmos, RUSSIA is planning for a MANNED MOON SHOT of its own come 2020. Wanna beat POTUS NEWT? [China?] in giving the Moon formal sovereign Statehood??? Dats good - OWG-NWO, UNO-led GLOBAL SPACE DEFENSE + US GMD-SPACE DEFENSE [Other?] = GUAMANIANS + US-WORLD MAY NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOOKING UP INTO THE SKY COME YEAR 2030 + SEEING MOON EXPLOSIONS [Comet Apophis?]. Future OWG "THE GOVTS-PERTS GLOBAL CONSENSUS IS THAT, OOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPSIES, THERE IS NO GLOBAL GOVTS-PERTS CONSENSUS" NOTWITHSTANDING. |
| Posted by: Grort Angulet6574 2012-02-03 22:02 |
| #7 I smell an On the Beach remake opportunity. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-02-03 17:31 |
| #6 Bingo, Yosemite Sam. That's their goal. |
| Posted by: lotp 2012-02-03 17:15 |
| #5 110lbs, 234 miles up = practice run for EMP ka-booms |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2012-02-03 14:04 |
| #4 Meanwhile, back at the farm. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-02-03 08:47 |
| #3 'Launching' and 'achieving orbit' are two different tasks. As kids, we 'launched' a lot of stuff with C-6's and 11's, D-12's and even an E-9 once. Don't know if their speed and apogee was ever considered 'orbital', though. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2012-02-03 08:20 |
| #2 assuming they aren't lying - a BIG assumption - it's just more space junk to track and destroy if necessary |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-02-03 08:06 |
| #1 "Yeah, did SO launch a satellite!! It's right up there, see...next to the North Korean one!!" Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2012-02-03 07:52 |