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Iran has said the new Zuljanah rocket will put a satellite into orbit after completing future test launches.
Tehran, Iran – Iran has completed the test launch of a rocket carrying a satellite in orbit, the Armed Forces Defense and Logistics Ministry said.
State television broadcast images of the rocket fired in broad daylight on Monday in a desert area, but it is not known exactly when and where the launch took place.
“For the first time in the space field of the country, the first research launch of the Zuljanah hybrid satellite carrier was carried out with the aim of testing in orbit by realizing the technology of the most powerful solid fuel engine in the country,” said said Ahmad Hosseini, spokesman for the space division of the Ministry of Defense.
Zuljanah was the name of the horse of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to Hosseini, the satellite carrier uses solid fuel in its first two stages of launch and liquid fuel in the third. It can carry a satellite weighing up to 220 kg (485 pounds) over 500 km (310 miles), he said.
The spokesperson said Zuljanah would be able to place operational satellites into orbit after finalizing its test launches, and could be launched from mobile launch platforms.
Iran maintains that its satellite program, like the nuclear program, is aimed at peaceful applications.
But the United States and other Western powers have long suspected that the program could have military applications for missile development.
In April 2020, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps successfully launched the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite – dubbed Nour or “light” – after two failed launches and a rocket explosion on the launch pad.
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