From Stephen Clark at Space Flight Now: "The observations of a recent launch from Iranian space base were first reported by NPR, based on images first released by Planet.
Analysts believe the launch likely carried the Dousti microsatellite aboard a Safir booster, a smaller cousin of the Simorgh rocket that faltered during a launch Jan. 15 with the Payam-e Amirkabir imaging satellite. Dousti, which means “friendship” in Persian, was billed as a 114-pound (52-kilogram) remote sensing satellite in Iranian news reports ahead of the launch."
Got that? 'Friendship.' I wonder how the Mad Mullahs say 'Death to America; Death to the Jews' in Persian (Farsi)?
So what evidence is there that this second launch failed? "Images of the launch pad in north-central Iran taken by orbiting satellites owned by U.S. companies suggest a rocket launch occurred (in early February), but the U.S. military’s catalog of space objects registered no new spacecraft in orbit. A satellite launch attempt was expected in recent weeks based on statements from Iran’s government and observations of increasing activity at the launch site."
After Iran's first failed attempt in 2019 to launch the Payam satellite atop its Simorgh rocket, the effort drew strong condemnation from the U.S. and Israel. From CBS News: "U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Iran's plans for sending satellites into orbit demonstrate the country's defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls on Tehran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly slammed Iran over the launch, accusing Tehran of lying and alleging that the "innocent satellite" was actually "the first stage of an intercontinental missile" Iran is developing in violation of international agreements.
Iran insists the launches don't violate the resolution.
Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space.
The U.S. and its allies worry the same satellite-launching technology could be used to develop long-range missiles that could carry nuclear weapons."
It's a legitimate concern, but for now, it appears rocket science for Iran is reliably unreliable. Geoff Brumfiel at NPR writes: "Michael Elleman, a physicist and senior fellow for missile defense at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, says this would be the fifth time that a Safir rocket failed since its first launch attempt in 2008. Four other Safir launches were successful."
Nonetheless, after this second failed attempt in 2019, the U.S. State Department issued this statement: “In defiance of the international community, the Iranian regime continues to develop and test ballistic missiles, including a reported second failed space launch in less than a month,” said Robert Palladino, a deputy State Department spokesperson. “Space launch vehicles use technologies that are virtually identical and interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles, including in Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). This attempted launch furthers Iran’s ability to eventually build such a weapon that threatens our allies.”
