Iran has failed its second attempt in recent weeks to launch a satellite into space, according to images released by two separate specialized spage imaging companies.
On Thursday morning, several images released to US media by DigitalGlobe and Planet, which showed blackened scorch marks consistent with a launch or failed launch of a craft, were seen on a launch pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran’s Semnan province.
The pictures are said to have been taken by the specialized companies on Wednesday.
Iran said that it would launch its Doosti, or “Friendship,” satellite into space to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Iranian revolution, which took place in 1979.
SCOOPLET: Iran's second space launch attempt in less than a month is an apparent failure, according to @DaveSchmerler @ArmsControlWonk based on imagery from @planetlabs:https://t.co/J9AjGV0HsP pic.twitter.com/D5DuUTCQZT
— Geoff Brumfiel (@gbrumfiel) February 6, 2019
Iranian state media and authorities have remained mum on the reports suggestng that the launch was indeed a failure.
In January, the Islamic Republic failed to put another satellite, Payam or “Message,” into orbit after it was unable to reach the required velocity. At the time,multiple leaders in Iran openly confirmed and discussed the attempted launch.
Iranian Communications Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari said the rocket carrying the satellite “failed to reach the required speed in the third stage, even though it succeeded in the first two stages of the launch.”
In the last few years Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space.
Both Israel and the US have expressed their concerns about the attempted satellite launches, with US alleging that such actions defy a UN Security Council resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently advised Iran “to reconsider these provocative launches and cease all activities related to ballistic missiles in order to avoid deeper economic and diplomatic isolation.”
In January, the European Union froze the assets of an Iranian intelligence unit and two of its staff, as the Netherlands accused Iran of two killings on its soil in 2015 and 2017, and joined France and Denmark in alleging Tehran plotted other attacks in Europe.
Source » jpost