Iran Press/ Iran news: Iran on Wednesday announced that the country has sent an imaging satellite into an earth orbit.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force has successfully put Noor III satellite (light-III), its third military satellite, into orbit, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) Issa Zarepour announced on Wednesday.
The U.S. slapped more sanctions on Iran in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency.
"Iran’s Marine Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization, and the Iran Aviation Industries Organization had also been blacklisted," said the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 16, 2021.
Later on Friday, Pompeo added that those who knowingly transfer 15 materials that the State Department said are used in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs, including certain types of aluminum and steel, would be subject to sanctions.
Upon the successful launch of the Noor 3 satellite, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi congratulated the country's aerospace achievement to people, young minds, Iran's Aerospace Organization (AIO), and IRGC experts.
The President addressed the Information and Communication Technology Ministry (ICT) and Iran's Aerospace Organization (AIO) to pave the way for further achievements.
Iranian indigenized Noor 3 satellite, meaning light, was successfully launched into orbit on September 27.
The satellite was launched with a homegrown satellite carrier, Qassed.
Put into an orbit 450 kilometers above the Earth, Noor 3 is Iran's third military satellite that is designed and manufactured by the IRGC Aerospace Force.
The Head of the Iranian Space Agency Hassan Salarieh unveiled Iran's upcoming plans for the near future, which include the imaging quality of the satellites with pinpoint accuracy.
He drew the road map of the agency, saying it plans to launch the satellites with an accuracy of 5, 4, and 3.5 meters.
Access to the imaging accuracy of 2 meters was the big picture for the space agency that was stated by the agency's head.
Bearing the advantage of great imaging accuracy, the Noor 3 enhanced the quality of the nanosatellites, as per the agency chief.
Regional benefits of Iran's aerospace capabilities
On the benefits of the Qassed satellite carrier, the IRGC Air Force Commander Ali Jafar-Abadi stated on Wednesday that the satellite carrier would be put into the production process.
The IRGC commander added that after trial and error, Iran will be qualified to launch light satellites.
Given the gained qualification, Iran will be able to launch the light satellites of the neighboring countries.
Iran's aerospace achievements
Sina, Omid, Rasad, Navid, Fajr, and Payam satellites launched from 2005 to 2019 are categorized as Iran's aerospace achievements enabling the country to study underground resources, establish a mutual connection between the satellite and the ground station, and take photographs from the Earth's surface.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote on X on Wednesday that the Noor 3 project is the result of efforts of young Iranian scientists and specialists in the space industry and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran.
Alireza Akbari
