Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully launched its third military imaging satellite, Nour 3, from Iran’s Shahroud Spaceport.The satellite was sent into orbit using a three-stage cassette carrier, which was developed by the IRGC.In Persian,”nour” (or “noor”) translates to “light”, while “Qased” means “messenger”.
Noor 3 was placed in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 450 km (280 mi) above the Earth’s surface.The primary purpose of the Nour-3 satellite is to collect data and images for intelligence purposes by the IRGC.
Previous versions of the Noor satellite include
- Nour 1 – It was the first military reconnaissance satellite launched by Iran in April 2020. It orbited at an altitude of 425 km (265 mi) above the Earth.
- Nour 2 – It launched in March 2022, and operated in a low orbit at an altitude of 500 km (310 mi).
Other satellites of Iran
- In August 2022, Iran’s high-resolution, remote-sensing Khayyam satellite was launched using Russia’s Soyuz-2.1B rocket. The launch took place from the Russian-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Iran
- President – Ibrahim Raisi
- Capital – Tehran
- Currency – Iranian Rial