At 0850 GMT on 2 February 2015, a Safir 1B launch vehicle launched a 52kg Fajr Earth observation and technology test satellite (aka Fajr 4) from the Semnan launch site in Iran. The launch appears to scotch rumours that Iran has cancelled its space programme.
Medium.com reported that Iran had dissolved its space agency on 9 January 2015 and cancelled its official space programme. According to the report, the remnants of the space programme were to be split between other Iranian government and military departments.
The programme was started in 2002 by Iran as a way of showing its technical prowess giving it the ability to launch communication satellites, while also providing it with a way of developing ballistic missile technology under the front of a civil programme.
The flight success in February represents a fillip to Iran’s launch programme in Iran. The Safir launch vehicle has had a mixed experience. Out of eight orbital attempts since the first launch carrying Omid test satellite in 2009 there have been three failures which occurred before this current flight there which lost the Fajr 1, 2 and 3 remote sensing satellites.
