Picture provided by IRNA on April 22, 2020 shows part of the Qased satellite carrier used by Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to launch Nour (Light)-1, Irans first military satellite, into the Earths orbit.
Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully launched and placed the countrys first military satellite into the orbit.
The elite force fired the satellite - dubbed Nour (Light)-1 - aboard Qased (Carrier) satellite carrier during an operation that was staged in Dasht-e Kavir, Irans sprawling central desert, on Wednesday, the Corps Sepah News reported.
The satellite was placed into the orbit 425 kilometers above Earths surface.
The Tasnim News Agency, meanwhile, carried a report outlining some details of the launch and the countrys space activities.
The report described Nour-1 as Irans first multi-purpose satellite with application in the defense industry among other areas.
The launch operation, it noted, was carried out by the IRGCs Aerospace Division from a launch station situated in the desert plains Shahroud region.
The report specified Qased as the countrys first three-stage satellite launcher to successfully pass all its tests.
The agency said the countrys aerospace program was expected to gather pace following the launch.
Over the next several years, it said, the country was expected to deploy its military space activities towards taking care of its relevant telecommunication purposes, including promotion of reconnaissance and safe communication capabilities.
‘IRGC now a space force
Speaking on the launch, IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami said, "Today, we can observe the world from space," congratulating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian people on the Islamic establishments achievement.
The launch, he said, served as an acknowledgment of the "empowerment approach" that has been advised by the Leader.
General Salami noted that the development showed that the Islamic Republic was capable of securing "remarkable" achievements that warranted international acclaim in whatever area that the country would choose to explore.
"The satellites successful launch enhanced new aspects of the Islamic Republics defensive might. By Gods grace, the Corps turned into a space force today," the commander said.
General Salami further characterized the achievement as a strategic gain that expanded "the realm of our capabilities." Setting foot in the space was a "necessity" for a powerful defense force like the IRGC, he added.
The success translates into a "mutation" in expansion of the countrys intelligence reach and command, General Salami said, noting that the orbiter could now come to the countrys assistance in "intelligence warfare."
Salami hailed that all the components of both the satellite and the carrier had been produced indigenously and despite the USs sanctions.
The launch conveys the message that not only have not the sanctions proven an obstacle in the way of Irans progress, but have also "turned on the engine propelling the novel technologies that turn us into a great power in the region and on the international stage in the foreseeable future," the commander said.
Leader congratulates IRGC on founding anniversary
The announcement was made on the day when the elite military force is marking the anniversary of its establishment on April 22, 1979 upon an order by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.
Marking the occasion, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his gratitude towards the IRGC for its performance.
IRGC General Mohammad Shirazi, the head of the Leaders Military Office, relayed the congratulatory message of the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Armed Forces to General Salami, the IRGCs chief commander.
"Convey my regards to the IRGC personnel and their respectable families on the occasion of its founding anniversary," the message noted. "I extend gratitude to them for their good performance and efforts. My prayers are with them."
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/16208
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