A Russian rocket has successfully launched an Iranian communications satellite into space, Iranian state media reported on Friday, marking another milestone for Tehran’s aerospace ambitions that continue to trouble some Western governments.
Iranian state television said the Nahid-2 communications satellite lifted off from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz rocket. Weighing 110 kilogrammes (240 pounds), the satellite was designed and manufactured entirely by Iranian engineers, according to the broadcaster.
Western governments have long voiced concerns that advancements made through Iran’s space programme could bolster its ballistic missile capabilities, potentially undermining international efforts to curb Tehran’s missile development.
The launch comes just as renewed nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany got under way in Istanbul.
The meeting, which began on Friday morning, is the first since Israeli strikes on Iran in mid-June triggered a 12-day conflict that saw the United States intervene on Israel’s behalf by targeting Iranian nuclear sites.
Tehran’s space programme has continued to make headlines in recent months. In December, Iranian officials announced that they had put their heaviest payload yet into orbit, using a domestically developed satellite carrier.
Earlier, in September, Iran confirmed the successful launch of the Chamran-1 research satellite into orbit, using the Ghaem-100 carrier rocket produced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace division.
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