Iran acknowledges rocket explosion, says test malfunctioned

[Right_in_Virginia]

Iran acknowledges rocket explosion, says test malfunctioned
Associated Press, Sep 2, 2019

Iran acknowledged for the first time on Monday that a rocket at its Imam Khomeini Space Center exploded after satellite photos showed the blast last week, with an official saying a technical malfunction during a test caused the explosion.

The comments by government spokesman Ali Rabiei were the first explanation offered by Iran for Thursday’s explosion, which came ahead of a planned satellite launch by the Islamic Republic that the U.S. has criticized.

Rabiei also criticized President Donald Trump for tweeting what appeared to be a surveillance photo of the aftermath of the explosion shot by a U.S. spy satellite.


The explosion marked the third failure involving a rocket at the Iranian center, which has raised suspicions of sabotage in Iran’s space program.

However, Rabiei dismissed that, saying that “this has been a technical matter and a technical error. Our experts unanimously say so.”
“The explosion happened at the launchpad and no satellite had yet been transferred to the launchpad,” Rabiei said. “It happened at a test site, not at the launch site.”

The image showed damaged vehicles around the launch pad, as well as damage done to the rocket’s launcher. It also clearly showed a large phrase written in Farsi on the pad: “National Product, National Power.”

“The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir SLV Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran,” Trump wrote in his tweet, identifying the rocket used. “I wish Iran best wishes and good luck in determining what happened at Site One.”

Rabiei criticized Trump’s decision to tweet about the rocket explosion.

“We don’t understand why the U.S president tweets and posts satellite pictures with excitement. This is not understandable,” he said. “Maybe this is because lack of Iran-related subjects that they raise such issues.”


More:  https://www.apnews.com/1c0551a96afd4bcb8bbf14e2c0b413b2

[Right_in_Virginia]

 

Us: “Hey look, Iran, another one of your missiles blew up!”
Iran: “You are incorrect; our missile is healthy and virile.”
Us: “Here’s a picture for you!”