Iran’s winged horse rocket: Another step towards global reach
Featured Column
The launch of Iran’s first solid-propellant space rocket is highly significant.
(March 2, 2021 / Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security) On Feb. 2, 2008, Iran became the ninth space-faring nation when it successfully orbited its first satellite, the “Omid,” using its newly developed “Safir” rocket, an adaptation of the “Shahab 3” military ballistic missile. Ever since that milestone, Feb. 2 is celebrated annually in Iran as Space Technology Day. The Iranian Space Agency, which is formally if not actually in charge of Iran’s space programs, makes an extra effort to commemorate the day with a new space launch. Sometimes it is successful, and the world is treated to a new Iranian satellite in space. More often it is not, and Space Technology Day turns into a series of conferences and television programs describing the glorious past and painting an even more glorious future.