This is the third successful launch of a military reconnaissance satellite by the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) successfully placed the third version of the imaging satellite Nour, which means “light” in Persian, into low orbit.
+ Click here to watch the launch video
The Noor-3 was placed into an orbit at 450 km (280 miles) from the surface of the Earth and, like its predecessors, was launched into space using a Qased rocket – which means “messenger” – developed by the IRGC.
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The first version of Nour was successfully launched in April 2020 into an orbit of 425 km (265 miles) above the Earth. It became Iran’s first military reconnaissance satellite launched after several failed attempts.
The second version reached a low orbit of 500 km in early 2022.
U.S. military officials say the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also enable Tehran to launch long-range missiles, possibly including nuclear warheads.
Tehran denies the U.S. claims that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.