Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Iran Launches Satellite

On Tuesday, Iran launched its first satellite into orbit. Apparently, the U.S. Department of Defense is very concerned that the development of the rocket that put the satellite into orbit could lead to the development of a ballistic missile system (uh-oh). Officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia , and China have all met in Germany to discuss their next steps on Iran. Two U.S. officails had confirmed that Iran had launched a low-earth orbit satellite. There was no weapons activity on the rocket, although it is capable of launching long-range weapons. The name of the satillite was Omid, which means "hope" in Farsi, and was launched on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The rocket was made entirely by Iranian technicians.
For more information on Iran's first satellite, go here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/03/iran.satellite/index.html

No comments: