Iran satellite ‘successfully’ launched without reaching orbit

TEHRAN: Iran “successfully” launched a satellite into space on Sunday but it fell short of reaching orbit, a defence ministry spokesman said on state television.

Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi admitted in a tweet that the launch “failed”, adding: “But We’re UNSTOPPABLE! We have more Upcoming Great Iranian Satellites!”

The satellite had been launched at 7:15 pm (1545 GMT) before it went “90 percent of the way”, reaching an altitude of 540 kilometres, said Ahmad Hosseini, spokesman for the defence ministry’s space unit.

“The Simorgh (rocket) successfully propelled the Zafar satellite into space but the carrier did not reach the required speed to put the satellite into the intended orbit,” he told state television.