Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has successfully put into orbit its second military satellite, Noor 2, the country’s state media said Tuesday.
The announcement comes as talks taking place in Vienna on reviving a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program are at a crucial stage.
Noor 2 orbits at an altitude of 500 kilometers (311 miles). The first military satellite, launched by the Islamic Republic in April 2020, places Noor, which means “light” in Persian, in an orbit of 425km (265 miles) above the earth’s surface.
The deployment of a second satellite in space is a major advance for Iran’s military, raising concerns about the country’s nuclear and missile programs.
Iran plans to send a series of military satellites into orbit over the next few years, Air Force Revolutionary Guards Space Commander Ali Jafarabadi said Tuesday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Jafarabadi elaborated, “We will launch a series of Noor satellites in the coming years. The nation’s space program, of which we are a part, to stabilize scientific, research and defense satellites in low-Earth orbit then reaches an orbit of 36,000 kilometers above ground level.”
The US military says long-range ballistic technology similar to that used to put satellites into orbit also allows Tehran to launch long-range weapons, including potential nuclear warheads.
Tehran denies US claims that such activities are a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never sought the development of its nuclear weapons. [mg/lt]