Iran tests launch of solid-fuel rocket into space

The press release quoted the commander of the Aerospace Unit of the Revolutionary Guards, Amir Ali Hajzadeh, as saying that the test was successful.

He added that this is the first time that Iran has used a solid-fueled missile instead of a liquid-fueled missile.

The general also revealed that the Middle Eastern country will produce lighter engines for rockets for other space projects.

According to Amir Ali Hajzadeh, the device that carried the satellite is made of composite material instead of metal and is considered more economical.

The composite material is generally more expensive to produce than mineral equivalents, according to an AP report.

Composite materials make the rocket lighter so that it can carry a satellite or larger payload into orbit.

The official Iranian news agency did not reveal any pictures of this statement.

Satellite launchers generally use a liquid propellant engine, but those equipped with a solid propellant engine can be adapted for mobile launchers, which can be transported anywhere via a road or rail system.

Solid fuel missiles are usually associated with ballistic missile systems.

Last month, Iran revealed that it had launched a rocket to ferry satellites with three devices into space, without adding whether any of the devices had entered Earth’s orbit.

The US State Department said at the time that it remained concerned about Iran’s space program, saying it represented “significant proliferation concerns” related to Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

These launches come at a time when negotiations are underway over the nuclear deal with Iran and world powers.

These negotiations resumed at the end of November, after a five-month gap, between Tehran and the countries still signatories to the agreement (France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and China), with the United States indirectly participating in the negotiations in Vienna.

The main objective of the discussions is to re-list the United States, which it left unilaterally in 2018, and to once again get Tehran to honor its commitments, which were broken in response to the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran.

Iran has long insisted that it has no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons and insists that satellite launches and missile tests have no military component.