Iranian Elite Troops Successfully Launch Noor-3 Military Satellite Into Orbit

Launch of Satellite Noor 3 Troops of the IRGC Aerospace. (Source: Mehrnews)

JAKARTA - Iran's elite forces, which are members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace Forces, are claimed to have succeeded in placing Noor-3 military satellites into orbit.

In a post on platform X, Iranian Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Eisa Zarepour said the IRGC Aerospace launched the 'Noor-3' imaging satellite using a domestically made launcher, Qassed, on Wednesday morning and placed it in orbit at an altitude of 450 km.

"I congratulate everyone, those who are active in the country's space industry, and IRGC space experts on this success. God willing, this year will be a beneficial year for the country's space industry," he wrote on X, launching Noornews September 27.

Separately, the United States military said the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit also allowed Tehran to launch long-range weapons, perhaps including nuclear warheads.

Tehran denied the US statement the activity was a cover for the development of ballistic missiles, saying it had never developed nuclear weapons.

Prior to today's launch, 'Noor-1', Iran's first military satellite was successfully launched and placed in orbit by Qassed transport rockets in April 2020. The satellite was placed in orbit at an altitude of 425 km.

After that, the 'Noor-2' satellite was placed into orbit at an altitude of 500 km in March 2020.

However, Iran, which has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, has also experienced several failures in satellite launches in recent years due to technical problems.