Iran’s rocket program advances by launching three satellites at once

Using a controversial rocket program that has drawn harsh criticism from the West, Iran claims to have successfully launched three satellites into orbit on Sunday for the first time.

For the first time, Iran claims to have successfully launched three satellites into orbit on Sunday, utilizing a contentious rocket program that has drawn harsh criticism from the West.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard-led news agency Fars described the launch on Sunday morning, which used the country's own Simorgh rocket, as a significant demonstration of the rocket's capability to precisely send numerous payloads into orbit.

According to Fars, two of the three satellites were nano-satellites weighing less than 10 kg, while Mahda, the largest, weighed 32 kg.

The other two spacecraft, identified by State TV as nanosatellites with an emphasis on global positioning and communications, respectively, were called Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1. Iran attempted five unsuccessful launches of the Simorgh rocket before using it successfully for the first time. The disasters during the failed efforts to launch Simorgh, or "Phoenix," included a launchpad explosion and large-scale fires. These setbacks were detrimental to Iran's civilian space program.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards space program and aspirations for civilian astronomy were advanced earlier this month when the country launched a three-stage rocket to launch another satellite, named Soraya, 750 kilometers (460 miles) above Earth's surface. Iran claimed to have the rightful claim to peaceful technological growth in the aircraft industry.