Iran test launches Zuljanah satellite carrier: State media
Iran has tested its Zuljanah satellite launcher for a second time for research purposes, according to state media.
Iranian media on Sunday quoted a defence ministry spokesman as saying the satellite vehicle was launched with a suborbital target, and that data gathered from the launch would inform a third planned launch.
State television aired footage of the launch, which appeared to proceed without trouble, but there was no confirmation whether it was successful.
The launch comes after weeks of speculation as satellite images had appeared to show that Iran was preparing for a launch at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in the province of Semnan.
Several Iranian aerospace specialists have died in mysterious circumstances in recent weeks. It is unclear if there is any connection.
The Iranian defence ministry, in charge of the Zuljanah launch, said one of them, 33-year-old Mohammad Abdous, was its employee and he died while “on mission” in Semnan, without elaborating further.
State television aired footage of the launch, which appeared to proceed without trouble, but there was no confirmation whether it was successful.
The launch comes after weeks of speculation as satellite images had appeared to show that Iran was preparing for a launch at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in the province of Semnan.
Several Iranian aerospace specialists have died in mysterious circumstances in recent weeks. It is unclear if there is any connection.
The Iranian defence ministry, in charge of the Zuljanah launch, said one of them, 33-year-old Mohammad Abdous, was its employee and he died while “on mission” in Semnan, without elaborating further.
Iran, however, has consistently rejected such warnings. It maintains that its nuclear programme is strictly peaceful.
The news of the launch comes a day after the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, on a trip to Tehran, agreed with Iranian officials to restart talks with the US to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers.
