An Iranian satellite carried by a Russian rocket was launched from a base in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, according to images broadcast live by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The scenes showed the Soyuz-1.2B rocket carrying the Khayam satellite, which lifted off at exactly 5:52 GMT from the Russian-run Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan.
The moon is probably named after Omar Khayyam, an Iranian scientist and poet who lived between the 11th and 12th centuries, and its purpose is to “control the borders of the country” and improve productivity in agriculture, water resources control and management. Natural hazards according to the report of the Iranian news agency IRNA.
The announcement of the satellite launch followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran on July 19, where he met with President Ebrahim Raisi and Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who called for strengthening “long-term cooperation” between the two. two countries
In June 2021, Putin denied US press reports that Russia intended to provide an advanced satellite system to Iran in order to improve the country’s espionage capabilities.
Iran maintains that its space program is exclusively for civilian and defensive purposes and has violated any international agreement, including the agreement with the six major powers on its nuclear program, which was concluded in 2015 and the United States withdrew from it in 2018. does not violate .
Iran’s space activities are often condemned by Western countries, as there are fears that Tehran will resort to increasing its ballistic missile expertise by launching satellites into space.
On Sunday, Iran confirmed that its satellite, due to be launched by Russia next week, would be under its control “from day one,” denying U.S. reports that Moscow is using it as part of its war against Ukraine.
Iran has previously launched satellites directly from its soil, the last of which was in March 2022 with the military satellite “Noor 2” belonging to the IRGC.
Source: Lebanon Debate
