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Iran to Use Missile to Launch Satellite by March; Plan Parallels North Korean 1998 Attempt

September 20, 2004 :: News

Iran is reportedly planning to use the improved version of its Shahab-3 missile to launch a small satellite into orbit, according to a defense industry source quoted by Reuters. The missile would reportedly carry a 20 kg experimental satellite to an orbit of 250 km above the earth. “It is just an experimental satellite which will send a simple signal,” the source said of the project, apparently called “Safir-313.” “Safir” is said to mean “emissary.”
        Reuters also reports that Iran announced in January that it meant to be the first Islamic country to go into space and added that it was building a launchpad.
        The significance of such a space launch would be to demonstrate an intercontinental capability for the Islamic nation—which is also an official state sponsor of terrorism. The speed and altitude necessary to have a missile reach orbit is similar to that of what an ICBM would need to travel from one side of the globe to the other. North Korea’s very similar 1998 attempt to put a small satellite into orbit demonstrated such ICBM capability. (Article)

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