Iran Opens Space Center, Launches Rocket
‘Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center, state television reported Monday, the latest steps in a program many fear may be cover for further development of its military ballistic missiles.
State television showed live images of the event, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issuing the launch order.
Iran has long declared a goal of developing a space program, but the same technology used to put satellites in space can also be used to deliver warheads. The country’s space program, like its nuclear power program, has provoked unease abroad. [..]
Despite concern over Iran’s space program, it is not clear how far along it is, or whether the latest launch actually reached the internationally agreed-upon beginning of “space,” set at 60 miles above the earth.’
