Iran conducts simultaneous launch of 3 satellites into orbit

Three satellites were launched into space simultaneously by Iran on Sunday, the country announced. This came almost a week after the Revolutionary Guards’ launch of a research satellite caused outrage in the West. The satellites were launched into a minimum orbit of 450 kilometers (280 miles) and were transported by the two-stage Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier. According to the official IRNA news agency, Iran’s Space Agency constructed the 32-kilogram Mahda satellite, which is intended to test sophisticated satellite subsystems. The purpose of the other two, Kayhan 2 and Hatef, which weigh less than 10 kg apiece, is to test narrowband communication and space-based locating technology. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran launched the research satellite Soraya into space last week. A declaration denounced by Britain, France, and Germany for being “interventionist” was rejected by Iran. The United States and other Western nations have cautioned Iran against these launches on multiple occasions, citing the possibility of using the same technology for ballistic missiles, which might carry a nuclear weapon. Iran has retaliated, saying that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that it only launches satellites and rockets for military or commercial uses. The Islamic republic has previously had multiple unsuccessful satellite launches. The United States chastised it severely after it launched Nour-1, its first military satellite, successfully into orbit in April 2020. Since Washington’s 2018 exit from a historic nuclear deal that provided Iran economic relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activity intended to prevent it from obtaining an atomic bomb, Tehran has been subject to crushing US sanctions. Iran has consistently maintained that its actions are wholly benign and denies having any desire to acquire nuclear weapons. (With agency inputs)