Iran on Saturday blasted a new research satellite into orbit, state media said, in the latest development in a space program that has long faced criticism from the West.

“The Chamran-1 Research satellite was successfully launched and put into orbit by the Ghaem-100 craft,” state television said.

The satellite, which weighs about 60 kilograms (132 pounds), is designed to test hardware and software system for orbital maneuvering technology, the TV report said.

The device was designed and built by Iranian Electronics Industries affiliated with Ministry of Defencesaid state TV.

Western governments including the United States have repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology could be used for ballistic missiles, including those designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.

Iran has a contract that it does not seek nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches is for civil or defense purposes only.

The Ghaem-100 rocket that carried the latest satellite is made by the Aviation Organization of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, an arm of the military.

The carrier is the country’s first three-stage solid-fuel satellite launcher, and official media reported that it was used in January to send a satellite for the first time into an orbit above 500 kilometers (310 miles).

Iran has for years advanced its aviation activities, insisting that they are peaceful and in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

In February, Russia put an Iranian remote sensing and imaging satellite into orbit, drawing condemnation from the United States.

At the time, Iran’s telecommunications minister said Iran had carried out a dozen satellite launches in the past two years.

Iran said in January that it simultaneously launched three satellites pathalmost a week after the launch of a research satellite by the guards.

The Islamic Republic has struggled with several satellite launch failures in the past.

Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, particularly after its arch-enemy the United States, under then-President Donald Trump, in 2018 unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Iran on Thursday summoned four European ambassadors after it imposed new sanctions against the country’s alleged supply of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Tehran denies.

© 2024 AFP