| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S. official calls Iranian satellite launch a 'dramatic failure' |
| 2008-08-20 |
| Iran's attempt to launch its first domestically produced carrier rocket into orbit was a "dramatic failure" that fell far short of the country's assertions of success, one U.S. official said on Tuesday, adding that "the attempted launch failed." "The vehicle failed shortly after lift-off and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure." Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, said on Sunday it put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time, using a technology that could also be used for launching weapons. Iran says it has no nuclear-weapons plans and that it seeks nuclear technology to generate electricity. Iranian television showed the rocket on its launch pad, but did not show the actual lift-off. "The failed launch shows that the purported Iranian space program is in its nascent stages at best -- they have a long way to go," the U.S. official said. Israeli experts and officials on Monday voiced mixed reactions to the launch as well. Tehran test-fired the new rocket, Safir Omid (Hope Envoy), before dawn Sunday, according to an Iranian Army statement published by the official news agency IRNA. The statement said that it was the second test-launch and successfully prepared the ground for the launch of the main satellite in the future. Israel Radio quoted a senior Israeli security official as saying that if Iran was capable of launching a satellite into space, this proved it was also able of launching other payloads over distances of thousands of kilometers. A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also told Israel Army Radio that the test "underscores Iran's military ambitions." One Israeli expert, Tal Inbar, a senior researcher at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, said the test was a "turning point," which had "far-reaching consequences for Israel's security." Inbar told the daily Yedioth Ahronoth that the test was a "most impressive technological achievement," and said the development of civilian satellite launchers was a "cover" for purchasing parts and know-how on the international market for Iran's military programs. But lawmaker Yitzhak Ben-Israel, the former head of the Israel Space Agency, downplayed the achievement as Iranian "propaganda." He said the concern expressed by some Israelis was "exaggerated" and "plays into the hands" of Tehran, which was trying to deter Israel and the U.S. from attacking its nuclear facilities. The satellite launched by Iran was an unsophisticated box of 20 kilograms, similar to one built by students at Israel's Technion Institute of Technology already 10 years ago, he said. "It's just an attempt to scare the Israeli public, which is apparently working pretty well, with all the superfluous media coverage," he told Israel Army Radio. Following its successful launch, Iran said Monday that it was ready to help fellow Muslim states launch satellites into orbit. The head of Iran's Aerospace Organization, Reza Taghipour, said Iran wanted to help Muslim countries launch satellites. "I am announcing now that Iran is ready to launch satellites of friendly Islamic countries into space," Taghipour told state television. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Time to bring out the flyswatter again. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-08-20 17:31 |
| #6 The only difference is the Flis Kit Acme Spitfire really does fly, perhaps they need to follow the instructions next time. |
| Posted by: bruce 2008-08-20 16:57 |
| #5 My bad the Flis Kit Acme Spitfire is much more appropriate... Blackvenom-2001 |
| Posted by: Blackvenom-2001 2008-08-20 16:45 |
| #4 Calls for a Wile E. Coyote graphic. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2008-08-20 11:56 |
| #3 Estes kit nah , more like an upscale Flis Kit Acme Spitfire. Go a search for an image. |
| Posted by: bruce 2008-08-20 08:24 |
| #2 To bad they don't live in the US... they could just use an Estes rocket kit! Blackvenom-2001 |
| Posted by: Blackvenom-2001 2008-08-20 07:50 |
| #1 snicker |
| Posted by: Betty Grating2215 2008-08-20 06:45 |