Iran Launches Noor-3 Military Satellite into Orbit

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards of Iran (IRGC) has declared a successful launch of the Noor-3 military satellite into outer space, marking the third successful orbit achieved.

Iranian Communications Minister Isa Zarepour was quoted as saying by state media that Iran's aerospace division had placed Noor-3 in orbit at an altitude of approximately 450 kilometers above the Earth's surface. However, the exact date of the launch remains unclear.

The Noor imaging satellite, which translates to "light" in Persian, was launched using the Qased rocket, a product of IRGC's development efforts, and the same rocket used for the Noor 2 satellite launch in 2022.

It's worth noting that the initial version of Noor was launched successfully in April 2020, reaching an orbit approximately 425 km above Earth. This marked Iran's first successful military reconnaissance satellite launch following previous unsuccessful attempts.

Previously, U.S. military authorities had expressed concerns that the long-range ballistic technology employed for satellite launches could potentially serve dual purposes, including launching long-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads. However, as of now, there has been no direct response from U.S. authorities regarding the launch of the Noor-3 satellite.