TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- An Iranian rocket launched
over the weekend that soared to the edge of space was intended for research, an
Iranian space official said, in comments that appeared intended to show that
the program is aimed at launching satellites, not missiles.
Iran did not say what research the
rocket was carrying out, but the announcement of Sunday's launch underlined the
country's ambitions at a time when the United States and others fear it is
trying to develop nuclear weapons and a greater ballistic missile capability.
Iran initially announced that it had
launched a "space rocket'' on Sunday. But the deputy head of Iran's Space Research Center, Ali Akbar Golrou, later in the day clarified that the rocket did not
reach orbit level and was carrying a research package.
He said the
rocket was built to soar to a maximum altitude of 93 miles. Space is considered
to begin at 60 miles. Ham radio satellites -- the lowest flying satellites --
orbit between 100-300 miles, while communication, weather and
global-positioning satellites fly between 250-12,000 miles up.
Golrou did
not specify how high Sunday's rocket actually went. He said the launch "was
aimed at improving science and research for university students.'' His comments
suggested the rocket was a "sounding rocket,'' used to conduct high-altitude
measurements and testing.
Iranian
officials have said the country wants to launch a satellite on an indigenous
rocket and indicated they are developing a Shahab-4 missile to do that.
Some
Western experts have expressed fears Iran's space rocket program may be a cover
to more fully develop its military ballistic missiles.
Ephraim
Kam, a strategic analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said it was known that the Iranians were seeking to develop rockets
capable of putting satellites into orbit.
If Sunday's
launch was successful, it could show Iran is developing a capability to build
longer-range missiles able to reach Europe.
"If this is
true, it has more significance for other countries, for Europe, than it does
for Israel. They have already had missiles that can reach Israel for several years,'' Kam said.
Iran's powerful ballistic missile, the
Shahab-3, is believed to have a range of around 900 miles, putting Israel and much of the Middle East in range.
The rocket
launch came at a time of increased tensions between Iran and the West over its
nuclear program, which the United States and some European countries fear aims
to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the claim, saying its nuclear program
and its space program are both peaceful.
The United
Nations in December imposed trade sanctions on Iran, banning the sale of goods
connected to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs after Tehran rejected
demands it suspend part of its nuclear program. Unlike Iran's nuclear program, though, there has been no concerted international attempt to end
the country's space program.
In 2005 Iran launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket, in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran. Iran signed a $132 million deal with a Russian firm in 2005 to build and launch
another telecommunications satellite.
Science and
Technology Minister Mohammad Soleimani said Iran would speed up its space
program, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"Investment
in space is very serious and requires time, but we are trying to speed this
up,'' IRNA quoted Soleimani as saying.
Iran hopes to launch four more
satellites by 2010, the government has said, to increase the number of land and
mobile telephone lines to 80 million from 22 million. It also hopes to expand
its satellite capabilities to increase Internet users to 35 million from 5.5
million in the next five years.
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