The Russian missile with the Iranian satellite on it was successfully launched on 27/10/2005 at 08:50 * Only one satellite was launched - Sina 1 - which is a small scientific satellite, and not the Sabah spy satellite which broke down due to a short circuit on the launch pad
27.10.2005
The Iranian satellite Sina-1 was successfully launched into space. Among other things, the launch was transmitted live thanks to another satellite, built by school students from around Europe (the first student satellite of the European Space Agency) and which is on the same rocket. In any case, the first stage of the Russian missile successfully separated at the appointed time, a few tens of seconds after launch. Now the satellites are making their way to orbit, where they will part ways.
Iran's first satellite, known as "Sina 1" will be launched this morning.
The launch is expected at 08:22 European time (and also Israel time)
Tal Inbar, a senior researcher at the Space Research Center of the Fisher Institute for Strategic Air and Space Research says that now the Iranians have officially announced that Iran is on the verge of launching its first satellite into space. The researcher, who follows the Iranian space program from 1997, further explains that: "Tomorrow (October 27) Iran is going to launch into space - for the first time - a satellite of its own production. The original Iranian plan was to launch two satellites, but following a serious malfunction in the "Masbah" satellite (the result of cooperation with the Italian company "Carlo Gavazzi"), there is no certainty that 2 satellites will be launched or only one. The launch will be carried out from Russia on a Russian Cosmos 3 M launcher."
"Iran has diverse programs in the field of space, including the construction of communication satellites (in collaboration with Russia), the development of home-made space launchers, and the operation of additional space systems for military and civilian uses. The self-launching of a satellite by Iran has considerable strategic implications, as the achievement of this capability implies the ability to launch long-range surface-to-surface missiles - beyond the current range of the Shihab 3 missiles."
Inbar adds: "At the head of the Iranian space program is Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and Defense Minister Simkhani shows great involvement in the space issue. Simkhani was recently interviewed on Iranian television (July 23.7.05, XNUMX) and noted that in the last eight years significant steps have been taken in Iran in the field of stations for receiving satellite broadcasts, control, launches, launch sites and tracking of satellites. Simkhani also noted that these steps that Iran is taking are done to achieve Iran's military needs in space."
Some sources that monitor future launches into space have omitted the "Masbah" from the list of satellites that the Russian rocket will carry, leaving only the smaller satellite. At the moment it is difficult to know whether both satellites will be launched or only one of them.
Only one of the two Iranian satellites will be launched on Thursday from a Russian rocket
The second, larger satellite that is supposed to be used as a spy satellite was damaged during assembly on the rocket about a month ago and will be launched at a later stage
24.10.2005
By: Avi BlizovskyRussia will place the first Iranian satellite in space next week, carrying a device described as intended for communication and natural disaster research. According to Iran, it is a communication and research satellite.
The Iranian newspaper Kayhan reports from the Iranian ambassador in Moscow that the Sina satellite will be launched from the launch site in Plastek on Thursday together with three other satellites from Russia, China and Great Britain. Senior Iranian officials repeated that they expected a successful launch. In July, former Minister of Communications Hassan Shafti announced that the Mesbah (Lighthouse) communications satellite would be launched this year. Mesbah, despite what the Iranians said, there was supposed to be a spy satellite that was supposed to photograph the territory of the State of Israel. He said that of the five Iranian satellites planned or under construction, three will be launched within the next three years.
As you may remember, the Mesbah satellite was already uploaded to the rocket that was supposed to launch it about a month ago, but was damaged by an electric current.
The Iranian spy satellite is out of order
News coming from Russia says that the Iranian spy satellite Massabh was badly damaged and out of order due to an excessively strong electric current when it was connected to the Russian missile from which it was supposed to be launched on Monday this week. No official confirmation
29.9.2005
By: Avi Blizovsky
The Iranian satellite Mesbah
The Iranian satellite Mesbah The Iranian spy satellite Mesbah was severely damaged and put out of use due to an electric current that was too strong when it was connected to the Russian missile from which it was supposed to be launched. In the meantime, this is news that has no official confirmation. The news was published in the meantime on TV - Channel 2 News and Channel 10 News.
The vice president of the Israel Space Association Tal Inbar, the researcher at the Fisher Institute, said that this is really a technical fault, which could happen to satellites.
The launch, which was supposed to take place on September 27, was first postponed to September 30, and then to an unknown date in October, after faults were discovered in the main satellite for which this launch is being carried out - Mozhyets 5. This is a Russian military satellite that is supposed to replace a previous satellite that is about to end its life.
For some reason, the issue has not yet reached the attention of the media. The news website spacedaily reported that the launch of the Cosmos-3 rocket from the northern cosmodrome in Plastek was postponed. The press officer of the Russian space forces, Colonel Alexei Kuznitsov, said that the launch was delayed due to a delay in the production of the Iranian satellite Sina-3 (the second, smaller Iranian satellite that was supposed to be launched at the same time). The production of the Iranian satellite is carried out by the Foliot company from Omsk, Russia. According to Kuznitsov, the Cosmos 3 rocket will launch the Muzhiates satellite and five remote sensing satellites designed by the British SSTI company. For some reason the news does not mention the launch of the Iranian satellite from Sabah.
It was learned that at some point they considered carrying out the launch without the Iranian satellites, but apparently the state of the main Russian satellite still does not allow it to go into orbit, but the Russians disguise this and place the responsibility on the Iranian satellite.
The Iranian satellite Mesbah The Iranian spy satellite Mesbah was severely damaged and put out of use due to an electric current that was too strong when it was connected to the Russian missile from which it was supposed to be launched. In the meantime, this is news that has no official confirmation. The news was published in the meantime on television - Channel 2 news and Channel 10 news. The vice president of the Israel Space Association, Tal Inbar, a researcher at the Fisher Institute, said that this was really a technical malfunction, which could happen to the satellites. The launch was supposed to take place on September 27, but was initially postponed to September 30. And then to an unknown date in October, after malfunctions were discovered in the main satellite for which this launch is being carried out - Mozhyets 5. This is a Russian military satellite that is supposed to replace a previous satellite that is about to end its life. For some reason the issue has not yet reached the media. The news website spacedaily reported that the launch of the Cosmos-3 rocket from the northern cosmodrome in Plastek was postponed. The press officer of the Russian space forces, Colonel Alexei Kuznitsov, said that the launch was delayed due to a delay in the production of the Iranian satellite Sina-3 (the second, smaller Iranian satellite that was supposed to be launched at the same time). The production of the Iranian satellite is carried out by the Foliot company from Omsk, Russia. According to Kuznitsov, the Cosmos 3 rocket will launch the Muzhiates satellite and five remote sensing satellites designed by the British SSTI company. For some reason, the news does not mention the launch of the Iranian satellite from Sabah. It is known that at some point they considered launching the launch without the Iranian satellites, but apparently the condition of the main Russian satellite still does not allow it to go into orbit, but the Russians cover this up and place the responsibility on the Iranian satellite. As I recall this week passed, before the scheduled launch date, Inbar said that this launch can be seen as a declaration of intent by Iran, according to which it intends to seriously enter the field of space. Iran is working on five projects in the field of satellites, including an advanced communication satellite that is being built for it in Russia. "You have to get used to the fact that there will be many satellites in the Middle East. An Israeli monopoly will not be preserved. Of course, there is still a large quality gap in Israel's favor in the field of space, both in regards to the construction of launchers and certainly in the field of satellites itself, but countries that set themselves the goal of catching up with Israel in this gap by investing resources, time, money and manpower can achieve much better achievements in the future, which means that Israel should continue and invest as much as possible to preserve the gap. Israel must also continue to develop a technological gap from the commercial satellites available from other countries, "we need to be even better than them." Amber concluded.
Iran will launch a photography satellite from a Russian launcher on September 27
Tal Inbar, vice president of the Israel Space Association and researcher at the Fisher Institute, says that Israel still has technological superiority but must get used to the fact that its monopoly in the field of spy satellites has ended
15/9/2005
Iran is going to launch two satellites into space on September 27. One satellite called Mesbah (Lighthouse in Persian), a photography satellite with limited capabilities. It was built in cooperation between Iran and Italy and will be launched on a Russian Cosmos 3M rocket along with an Iranian satellite and 7 satellites from other countries.
The other satellite that Iran will launch is called SINAH - a small satellite weighing 20 kilos. Tal Inbar, vice president of the Israel Space Association and a researcher at the Fisher Institute, says that the Iranians apparently intended to launch it using their own launcher and if they are now launching it as a hitchhiker on a Russian launcher, it is a sign that their launcher is not ready.
According to Inbar, this launch can be seen as a declaration of intent by Iran, according to which it intends to seriously enter the field of space. Iran is working on five projects in the field of satellites, including an advanced communication satellite that is being built for it in Russia.
There are other countries in the region that have satellites, but Iran is the most important due to the interesting statements of its leaders that space is the continuation of military activity in a new space beyond the Air Force. With large investments by Iran and its cooperation in the world, it will be able to reach intelligence capabilities within a few years. However, it is estimated that technologically, Iran will be inferior to Israel, at least for the foreseeable future. "A satellite like our Ofek is a very advanced satellite with capabilities that exceed its size. In the foreseeable future, Iran will not have a satellite." Amber said.
According to Inbar, one should get used to the fact that there will be many satellites in the Middle East. An Israeli monopoly will not be preserved. Of course, there is still a large quality gap in Israel's favor in the field of space, both in regards to the construction of launchers and certainly in the field of satellites itself, but countries that set themselves the goal of catching up with Israel in this gap by investing resources, time, money and manpower can achieve much better achievements in the future, which means that Israel should continue and invest as much as possible to preserve the gap.
Israel must also continue to develop a technological gap from the commercial satellites available from other countries, "we need to be even better than them." Amber concluded.
Iran - our satellite can photograph Israel
Although its resolution is much lower than that which can be obtained by acquiring images from commercial satellites
17.11.2005
By: Avi Blizovsky, Mekorot concentration
Iran has announced that the satellite it launched into space a month ago and which it stated was intended for scientific purposes, will also be used to spy on Israel. This is reported by the AP agency.
The satellite, "Sina-1" was launched about a month ago using a Russian rocket from a missile base in northern Russia. It is a satellite based on Chinese technology and as stated that it is intended for research and technological experimentation, as well as monitoring what is happening on Iranian soil. After the launch of the satellite, the heads of the Iranian space program announced that a second satellite, this time of Iranian manufacture, would be launched within a few months. In fact, the Sina-1 satellite was supposed to be a companion to the Mesbah satellite, but this satellite broke down after absorbing an electric current when it was connected to the launch vehicle, and after it was repaired, it would have to wait for another launcher to go into space.
The Iranian government stated at the time of the satellite's launch that its purpose was to photograph the territory of Iran and look for natural minerals and geological problems in the earthquake-stricken country. In addition, they claim that the lifespan of the satellite is 3 years and has a photo resolution of about 50 meters which is considered low resolution.
The satellite orbits the earth 14 times a day and it moves in the coffee orbit which is about 1,000 kilometers from the earth. The satellite had the ability to change the direction of the camera in a manner controlled by the control room on the ground. Through these possibilities, the Iranians obtained, in fact, the possibility of monitoring countries in the entire Middle East region, with Israel within range.
Iran's space program has suffered many delays resulting from technical problems and organizational difficulties. A study by the Yafe Institute for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University reveals that Iran has missed several target dates in its satellite program.
The reason for this is not clear, writes the report quoted on the Meadle East Newsline website, but it seems that they are related to the Iranian government's inability to manage government agencies.
The author of the report, Yeftah Shapir writes that the Sina-1 satellite launched from Russia on October 17, costs 15 million dollars, weighs 160 kg and contains two cameras and communication equipment.
