Iranian space launch 22/04/2020

[Flyaway]

Video from the launch of NOOR satellite on the QASED SLV. Liquid propulsion first stage can be clearly seen. pic.twitter.com/BgmQC0FSdz

— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace) April 22, 2020

Photos from launch of #Iran Noor-1 satellite by IRGC. pic.twitter.com/8Npyzo5kUE

— Aldin 🇧🇦 (@aldin_aba) April 22, 2020

Nothing to see here, its just a picture for my Instagram.... pic.twitter.com/vxICEIi8mY

— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace) April 22, 2020

Iran says it launched military satellite as Trump threatens ships

Iran said it put its first military satellite into orbit Wednesday, making it an emerging "world power", as the US issued new threats amid rising naval tensions in the Gulf. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hailed the launch as a milestone, in the face of intense US pressure and...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

What do you bet that it was the Iranian Space Agency and the IRIAF that did most of the heavy lifting.

 

[stealthflanker]

Congratz to Iran. Im curious what kind of Satellite, communications perhaps ?

 

[Flyaway]

Details on the object’s orbit:

Data from @18SPCS has confirmed that the Iranian launch earlier today did place an object (45529/2020-024A) in orbit, parameters being 426 x 444 km x 59.8°.

— Cosmic Penguin (@Cosmic_Penguin) April 22, 2020

Here is a VERY ROUGH approximation of that orbit would look like after 1 pass (the earth's rotation means the satellite would see other parts of the earth in its lifetime). I made this using the Orbital mechanics tool at https://t.co/uuDO58LvFN pic.twitter.com/98Vr8Hv8xp

— Aᴍɪʀ (@AmirIGM) April 22, 2020

Here are the ground tracks of the first few orbits pic.twitter.com/cH8udpy33Z

— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 22, 2020

 

[Flyaway]

New launch video:

Even longer video about the launch, the first ~30sec includes long range thermal tracking cam and on-board footage!https://t.co/MhV2rNeUf0

— LaunchStuff (@LaunchStuff) April 22, 2020

 

[kaiserbill]

Interesting.
Launched from a TEL vehicle.

 

[Flyaway]

Iran's NOOR satellite is a 6U CUBESAT for remote snsing. And look who it is watching on the official insignia? Yes. Israel and Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/FOzKL9TDA5

— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace) April 23, 2020

 

[Flyaway]

This Twitter thread is worth following for the history of the development of this launcher:

So Iran conducted a new satellite launch. Why is this a big deal and different from previous space launches? Thread 1/13 pic.twitter.com/hJYu8DFAtA

— Fabian Hinz (@fab_hinz) April 24, 2020

Scott found Iran's NOUR 01 satellite!
Many reports are coming in from other amateurs.
Most interesting aspect of the find is the fact the satellite seems to be using off the shelf cubesat parts in their default configuration essentially.
Telemetry has been decoded by amateurs! https://t.co/KkcqsBJHsT

— Scott Tilley 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@coastal8049) April 25, 2020

@US_SpaceCom continues to track 2 objects @PeteAFB’s @18SPCS associated w/#space launch from Iran, characterizing NOUR 01(#SATCAT 45529) as 3U Cubesat. Iran states it has imaging capabilities—actually, it’s a tumbling webcam in space; unlikely providing intel. #spaceishard

— General Chance Saltzman (@SpaceForceCSO) April 25, 2020

 

[Flyaway]

It definitely is producing telemetry though, radio observations show (very strong telemetry signals with a datapacket every 10 seconds at 401.5 MHz - below spectrogram is my detection from last night).
So I am not convinced by these suggestions of "failure" below. https://t.co/FLe7MfkQLr pic.twitter.com/7CJinmCohm

— Dr Marco Langbroek (@Marco_Langbroek) April 26, 2020

 

[Flyaway]

New data on Noor-1 (h/t @fab_hinz): Ground station in Tabriz picked up signal from Noor-1 at end of first orbit. 10 contacts so far. Working on stabilizing sat (my guess: gravity boom?) and expect to switch on cameras in 10 days. Mission is imaging recon. https://t.co/g2Tij08D0U

— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 23, 2020

 

[Flyaway]

 

[Flyaway]

Interesting blog post about the satellite launched by Iran.

Recovering Iran’s NOUR 01 ‘Military Satellite’

Iran’s new military satellite, NOUR 01, most interesting fact may not be that it resembles a college engineering experiment but rather that it may have a connection to a Mexican military payl…

skyriddles.wordpress.com

 

[Sferrin]

Interesting.
Launched from a TEL vehicle.

That should be a red flag.

 

[TomS]

Interesting.
Launched from a TEL vehicle.

That should be a red flag.

It's not that uncommon in small-sat launchers. Vector looked at using a trailer-based launcher (before they imploded). I believe Astra actually does use a mobile launcher for Rocket 3.0.

 

[Flyaway]

It’s the fact that they seem to have been able to get hold of what might be possibly a standard 3U cubesat that seems odd, considering the economic restrictions they are under, especially if it is US manufactured cubesat.

 

[Sferrin]

Interesting.
Launched from a TEL vehicle.

That should be a red flag.

It's not that uncommon in small-sat launchers. Vector looked at using a trailer-based launcher (before they imploded). I believe Astra actually does use a mobile launcher for Rocket 3.0.

True, buuuut, last time I checked Vector or Astra weren't chanting, "Death to America" on a regular basis and pursuing nuclear weapons.

 

[TomS]

Just pointing out that the TEL itself isn't a sign of anything nefarious. Even a peaceful launcher could well use a TEL for simplicity. Now, there are other bits of this launcher that are pretty dodgy, but using a TEL in and of itself isn't one.

 

[Grey Havoc]

New Iranian Missile Could Strike Central Europe: Analysis - Breaking Defense

On the 22nd of April, Iran surprised the world by successfully launching the Noor satellite, using a previously unknown Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) which they call Qased. The US Space Force confirmed that Noor reached orbit, together with a second object, assessed as the spent upper stage. A...

breakingdefense.com