Iran to launch satellite which US says is cover for missile program

[TomSea]

Iran to launch satellite which US says is cover for missile program
Al Arabiya English Sunday, 9 February 2020

Iran will launch a satellite on Sunday, a government minister said, as part of a fledgling program the United States says is a cover for ballistic missile development.

“The Zafar satellite will be placed in orbit today from Semnan at a speed of 7,400 kilometers,” Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said, according to the official IRIB news agency.

Iran started counting down to the launch to the scheduled launch, which will take place within hours, the telecommunications minister said.

Read more at: https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/02/09/Iran-to-launch-satellite-amid-missile-allegations.html

[TomSea]

Iran fails to put satellite into orbit due to low speed: state TV
By Amir Vahdat, Jon Gambrell | Associated Press

An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit on Sunday, state television reported, the latest setback for a program the U.S. claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program.

The launch happened at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket couldn't put the Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit, however, due to a low speed, Iranian state TV reported.

More at: https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-rocket-launch-fails-satellite-orbit