NEWS: Iran Launches Satellite

With the aid of Russia, Iran has launched a small satellite into space. It orbits the earth every 99 minutes and may have camera capabilities. Governments around the world are concerned as to why Iran developed this technology.



Recently, Iran has been in the news. They are developing the means to have nuclear power. It remains to be seen what Iran plans to do with this nuclear capability.
Then, we had an announcement about testing an underwater missile and also a sea-skimmer. It seems all of a sudden, Iran is showing off it's military might. Or flexing its muscles.
Iran has joined the relatively exclusive club of countries that have sent satellites into space. Late last year, Iran launched a Russian-made satellite called Sina-1.

It remains to be seen why Iran wants to have satellites in space. And who may be helping them in these recent endeavors. Certainly Russia has helped Iran. So, one wonders if Russia can be considered any kind of ally to the U.S. or any Western country.


Related News Links:
www.msnbc.msn.com
www.foxnews.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
US/Iran/Russia; S-300PMU/SA-10, Shahab-3/ss-26, Shkval/ Ekranoplan = Cuban missile crises repeated.
Iran tests fastest underwater missile
Blix: Iran At Least Five Years Away From Nuclear Bomb

[edit on 4-4-2006 by Thomas Crowne]



[edit on 5-4-2006 by DontTreadOnMe]

Terrorism? Launching a sattelite? Nuclear capabilities? I don't see how these things all come together. Lots of nations have sattelites. Why would Iran launching one be terror related news?

It remains to be seen why Iran wants to have satellites in space

Maybe tv? telecommunications? Isn't that what most people use satellites for?

I find it amusing that every technical accomplishment by the " big bad iranians" can be related to "terror".

Maybe the U.N should pass a mandate enforcing the Iranians stay in the middle ages.

I think it probably has more to do with the timing...

Iran has been making a display of it's weaponry lately. Given the hoopla going on between the US and Iran right now, any kind of sattelite launch is probably going to be viewed with suspicion.

If war actually were to occur, I suspect that sattelite would get about 1 orbit's worth of travel time after hostilities opened...just a guess

Sure, this is all about the timing. the NYT is capitalizing on the recent arms events.
Sure, this is an allegedly innocent research satellite.

But, the potential is troubling. At the very least, Iran showing the world its muscle, as the author suggests.

From the NYT article, which requires a login:

"The real issue is that they have a very large booster under development," said Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington who wrote a recent report on Iran's nuclear effort.

He said Tehran's bid to develop new rocket and space technologies might be nothing more at this point than its exploring of technological options, at times quite modestly, as in its recent effort to loft experimental satellites.

"That doesn't mean the potential should be minimized," Dr. Cordesman said. "We know these states can achieve technical surprise." On Sunday, Iran said it test-fired a fast underwater missile that could evade sonar and on Friday announced that it had launched a new rocket that can carry multiple warheads and elude radar. The military actions, accompanied by film clips on state television during a week of naval maneuvers, seemed calculated to defy growing pressure on Tehran.

(emphasis mine)

And, from the MSNBC source,

The Russian company Polyot built the 375-pound satellite for Iran, but Iran had already developed the necessary infrastructure for its space program. The program represents Tehran’s drive to prove it can produce advanced technology on its own.

Similarly, Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful, aimed at producing electricity and showcasing the country’s technical prowess — though the United States believes the program secretly aims to produce nuclear weapons.

We can hope that Iran is merely trying to improve itself technologically.
But, we should keep our heads in the sand about the intent of Iran, who has already promised to blow Israel off the face of the earth?

How about the fact that if you can orbit a satellite you have the capability to bomb any country that the satellite passes over. Anybody remember the Soviet FOBS system? The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System was supposed to put a nuclear bomb in an orbit resembling a satellite then deorbit the bomb over its target. With the capability to put up a satellite Iran becomes a much larger threat if they develop a nuclear bomb.

R-360 SSL-X FOBS

Yawwwwn...

A small satellite? Does that equal terrorism and nuclear capabilities?

We must look insane to the entire world. Really.

Has anyone thought this sat could already contain MIR capability?

These folks have obviously been reading the Sec. of Defense work on "Full-Spectrum Warfare" and have taken the message to heart.
Everything is an asset in the war without - end, and to not explore all avenues would be inviting disaster. Nukes/missiles/CBRN/media/ the net - all weapons in the New American Century.

Omg people I am surprised. The US owns more than half of all the satellites in space with uses ranging from Gps, international surveillance, tellecommunications, space research, and who knows what else. Now Iran launches one satellites, which I am sure is to help them get a better view of any unusual troop movements or aerial bombardments into their nation unprovoked.

Just remember people, if we do attack first, it is a declaration of war against a coutry which had yet to commit any criminal act. This will give them every right to defend themselves.

The satellite is just watching, thats all it is doing. We have up to 100 satellites watching the globe, I think these people are entitled to keep a keener eye on their own land from any illegal military action.

They sure are maing it harder for the US to make any attacks without consequence, they must be terrorists. I mean who dare deny us our right to launch unprovoked attacks on sovereign nations with little risk to our assets?

And please a nuke on a satellite? I will tell you this, if that is what they did, then the US probably has hundreds up there. But I seriously doubt it.

We have a Winner....

But as to the original Post not no but HELL NO can we trust Russia or China for that matter to do anything but push there Agenda`s and Undermine and try to Hurt the United States at every possible turn

I don't post here very much, but I had to comment here.

I'm quite surprised at those who think this story has little merit, that this is Chicken Little running around saying the sky is falling.
Do any of you really think Iran has honorable intentions? Or Russia for that matter?

From the stories reported in those links and other reading I just did, something like 40 countries have satellites. No big deal.
But, how many of those countries wish the US ill? How many want Israel off the face of the earth?

I am not saying that Iran HAS put a nuke on their satellite, I am saying that they now have the capability TO put a nuclear bomb into an orbit mimicking a satellite. Add this to the other weapons systems that Iran has revealed within the last few weeks and statements made by members of their government, I can see where there is a need to take this seriously. There is another thread stating that the Ukraine may have sold nuclear warheads to Iran.
Alert!!! 250 Nuclear Warheads Sold To Iran???

One of the main arguements against a pre-emptive strike on Iran and North Korea is their lack of a missile capable of striking the US. By launching that satellite, Iran has shown that they have that capability. I am not advocating an attack on Iran, far from it. I am saying that by their actions they have made themselves a viable threat and if they keep on their current path an attack may be necessary.

I hope that an attack won't be necessary, but until Iran starts acting responsible and shows that they are not a threat, I don't see any improvement in relations between Iran and the Western world.

That alert IS a bit MISLEADING. The article states that the warheads are missing, not that Iran has got them for sure. It is very speculative. I don't feel it is the same issue as has been presented here about developing satellite technology.

Also, I think the biggest threat to Iran having satellites is NOT nuclear.
It is the possibility that Iran will use these satellites, I think at least 304 are planned, to spy on the West.
Not goo, imho.

Could be for tracking their nuclear missile launches.



Defense department have any satellite killers?


[edit on 5-4-2006 by Regenmacher]

These days all they have for satellite killers is the shuttle and a slingshot. They treatied off all the good ones.

Mabye they are just trying to defend themselves from the imminent attack of America. Good luck to them. Defeat in Iran means defeat of this crazy American forigen policy

For someone who is afraid of being attacked by the US, Iran is sure going out of its way to provoke an attack. Doesn't sound too smart to me. It looks to me that Iran is trying to justify a war with the US to its own people.

Yeah, why should it be called terror, when the fact of the matter is that Iran has called for the destruction of Israel, not just an homicide bombing of a couple of coffee shops and the like. Just because they sponsor the terror that afflicts the Israelis doen't mean that they aren't capable of more.

Considering that the satelite can be used for spying and considering that one learns to run by first learning to walk, there is notr reason to think that this event of November 2005 isn't the first of many more events.

My apologies to DYepes; I would like to include verbatim your statement about Iran not having committed any criminal act, but the QUOTE button doesn't appear to function for me. Anyone interested can reference the post in this thread.

To say that Iran has not committed any criminal act seems disingenuous, at best. Iran is, and has been, a major enabler of terrorism. I would call that criminal.

But as far as this satellite, and the "250 nukes" issue being discussed on the other thread, there is no evidence that the Ukraine actually sold nukes to anyone...only that Russia didn't get them back. Depending on the portability of these devices, I would think that if they were in the hands of any terrorist outfit, via Iran or any where else, then someone would have set one off in downtown Tel Aviv already. Certainly the Chechen's would have used one if they got their hands on it.

I suspect that if Iran had any of these then, as another poster has pointed out, they would let it be known. Even 250 of them is not enough to keep America from turning Iran into a glass-coated parking lot, if push came to shove. The idea of a potential attack on Iran is to preclude their gaining atomic weaponry. If they let it be known that they have some, as another poster has noted, the whole issue changes.

As far as the satellite thing...as I said above; if it came to war, I think any Iranian satellites would get about 1 orbit (or less) worth of travel before being "decommissioned". Iran doesn't need satellites for surveillance...Russia can give them all the intel they need...and in real time, I suspect.

Russia is the real problem-child in this equation: the cold-war continues.