Nour (satellite)
| Nour | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Military reconnaissance satellite |
| Country: |
 Iran
|
| Operator: | Iranian Revolutionary Guard |
| COSPAR-ID : | 2020-024A |
| Mission dates | |
| Begin: | April 22, 2020 |
| Launcher: | Ghased |
| Status: | in orbit |
| Orbit data | |
| Track height: | 425 km |
| Orbit inclination : | probably about 59.8 ° |
Nour ( Persian ماهواره نور, 'Light') is a military reconnaissance satellite of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). It is the first spy satellite built and launched in Iran . It was launched into low-earth orbit on April 22, 2020 and, according to Iranian sources, began operations.
History and start
The launch was scheduled for the 41st anniversary of the founding of the IRGC. The successful launch with a Ghased rocket from a mobile launch platform was preceded by a series of unsuccessful developments in the Iranian aerospace program. In February 2020, the launch of the Iranian communications satellite Zafar-1 failed. The Simorgh rocket launched as planned, but could not reach the desired altitude. The same error had already occurred with the failed launches with Payam and Dousti satellites in 2019. In February 2019, a fire in the Imam Khomeini Space Center , Iran's largest space facility near Semnan, killed three researchers.
IRGC Major General Hossein Salami , the head of the IRGC, described the device as a "multi-purpose satellite" that enhances the "strategic intelligence of the Revolutionary Guards".
Two objects appeared on publicly accessible orbit observation platforms - presumably the Nour satellite and the upper stage of the Ghased rocket - at an altitude of about 425 kilometers. They circled the earth in nearly circular orbits. The orbits were inclined at 59.8 degrees to the equator. The satellite orbits the earth in around 90 minutes. Radio amateurs were able to receive signals from the satellite at 401.5 MHz.
reaction
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reminded Tehran to heed UN Security Council Resolution 2231. After four years since the last such satellite launch, Israel launched its Ofeq-16 reconnaissance satellite two and a half months later, in July 2020, into orbit. a. with the need to oversee the Iranian missile program.
Individual evidence
- ↑ More News Agency: IRGC puts Iran's first military satellite into orbit. April 22, 2020, accessed on July 12, 2020 .
- ^ Samuel M. Hickey: Iran's military satellite launch: What just happened? May 4, 2020, accessed July 12, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ a b Into Orbit: Iran's Nour 1 Satellite and the Two-Wing Doctrine. Retrieved July 12, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Maysam Bizaer: Iran satellite launch 'sends a message' on failed US pressure. Al Jazeera, accessed July 12, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Stephen Clark: Iran places military satellite in orbit. Spaceflight Now, accessed July 12, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Scott Tilley: Recovering Iran's NOUR 01 'Military Satellite'. April 28, 2020, accessed on July 12, 2020 .
- ↑ Anna Ahronheim: Ofek 16 reconnaissance satellite launched into space by Defense Ministry. Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2020, accessed July 12, 2020 .