US Confirms The Successful Launch Of Iranian Satellite Noor-3

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 31-01-2024

US Confirms The Successful Launch Of Iranian Satellite Noor-3

Space 6 min read

The United States has acknowledged that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has successfully put an imaging satellite,Noor-3 into orbit this week. Earlier, the Iranian government said that its Revolutionary Guard had successfully launched its third imaging satellite Noor-3 in space on 27 September 2023.

The United States is strongly opposed to the Iranian space programme as it believes its space rocket will be used to make ballistic missiles, which will threaten its bases in the West Asian region and its allies in the region.The United States also accuses Iran of secretly developing a nuclear weapon development programme. Iran has always denied that it is developing a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. fears that the Iranians will use the ballistic missiles to carry nuclear bombs, which will threaten it and its allies in the region.

The United States says Iran's satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and has called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Iran's space programme

The Iranian civilian space programme is carried out by the Iranian Space Agency. It not only develops satellites but also rockets to launch the satellites into space.

The Iranian civilian space programme has faced a number of failures in recent times with several failures in recent times.

However, the Iranian defence ministry is also in the space programme. Iran's military’s elite branch, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or, in short, Revolutionary Guards, also has an active space programme.

The satellite Noor-3 was launched by a rocket Qased from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport, Shahroud, in Semnan province.

"Noor" means "light" in Farsi, while "Qased" means "messenger."

According to the Iranian authorities, the Noor-3 satellite has an "image accuracy that is two and a half times that of the Noor-2 satellite." Noor-2 satellite was launched in March 2022 and remains in orbit. Noor-1, launched in 2020, fell back to Earth last year.

Controversy regarding the Iranian Satellite launch

After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. The United States and Israel are considered as enemy no.1 for Iran. Iranian leaders have time and again said that they will destroy Israel. Iran is also involved in a bitter rivalry with another close U.S. ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.

The United States and its allies do not want Iran to possess missile technology and atom bombs. Israel has openly said that it will destroy Iranian nuclear facilities if it tries to develop nuclear weapons.

Saudi Arabia has also indicated that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, then it will also develop a nuclear weapon.

The United States of America and its allied countries have imposed a number of sanctions on Iran to prevent it from getting technology and materials which will help Iran in its missile and nuclear weapons programme. In 2003 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during an inspection of an Iranian nuclear facility found traces of highly enriched uranium. For developing a nuclear bomb 90% or more enriched uranium is needed.

In 2006, the United Nations passed a resolution asking Iran to halt its nuclear weapon programme.

Iran has always denied that it is developing a nuclear weapon. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a report published in March 2023, says that Iran is continuing its programme to develop weapon-grade enriched uranium.