Iranian Space Program Falls to Earth
Omid was launched from the outskirts of the Iranian deserts, supposedly on a rocket called Safir (Ambassador). But our sources believe that not only was Safir not manufactured by the Islamic Republic of Iran, but that it was, in fact, secretly imported from Russia and assembled to make Ahmadinejad and his government look good, especially so close to the upcoming presidential elections in June.
This would not be the first time that the Islamic government has used Russian technology to launch a domestically assembled satellite into space. In 2005, the Russians lent their expertise to Iran and sent Iran’s Sina-1 satellite into outer space. But for Omid, Iran paid an enormous amount of money to claim that the entire program, from manufacturing the launch vehicle and satellite to directing the actual launch, was an Iranian operation.
As a matter of fact, news was leaked by patriotic Iranians at the space agency that an amount of $1 billion was missing from the account of the Iranian Space Agency right after Omid went to orbit. Our sources believe that this money was a huge payoff to the Russians so Iran could claim the full glory by itself. One billion dollars for a toy satellite that came down almost as fast as it went up. A real satellite at a fraction of the cost could have served the same purpose for an average of 15 to 20 years and with a lot more capability.
News about Omid was all over the government-run media at the time of its launch and Iran gloated constantly about becoming a member of the exclusive space club for days. But since the news about the satellite coming down has hit the fan, they have been have walked a lot softer — probably because they did not want to damage the Norooz (Iranian New Year) celebration, which arrived with the first moment of spring on March 20.
There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life. –Eric Hoffer
Even aside from the above quote from Hoffer, it seems the Iranian space program & the DNC have a lot in common…
What is the ETA (estimated time of arrival) in Teheran, Tel Aviv or Texas? Does AhMadinejad
know the trajectory? Does a mullah or allah
know where it will impact? Will the Iranian
abortion disintegrate or burn up in the atmosphere? Was the Iranian satellite fiasco
planned by Russia or Iran; and what purpose did the sat serve? Would mohammad have approved
this unworldly expedition? What does the Q’uran say about space ventures? Is Iran training female asstranots? What will muslum females wear in space?
That’s really too bad. It will give ammo to all those who believe Iran can’t get a bomb developed. A truly successful launch perhaps might have pushed some over the fence into the Iran has real potential to make a bomb camp.
AlanABQ
I believe you have just provided, in the quote from Eric Hoffer, an explanation for obama’s “presidency”, press conferences, cabinet appointments, spending proposals, et al.
It shows that you really don’t need technology when you have Allah.
A satellite does not come down because it runs out of electrical energy. It comes down because its orbit (or some arc segment of it) is too low to be safely above the upper layers of the atmosphere.
It loses its kinetic energy to aerodynamic drag, and soon comes down because the atmosphere is progressively denser at lower elevations, eventually leading to a precipitous (and potentially spectacular) fall.
from a non-technical angle, the satellite name means “hope” and the rocket’s name means “message”. This launch is meant to anounce the imminent return of the 12th Imam, the little boy who will come out of the well in which he fell a few centuries earlier to lead us to the judgment day.
We are not going to allow this glitch get in the way of the “glorious victory”, are we?
Maybe there weren’t enough prayers going on in Iran to keep it up there. Memo to the Iranian people; get praying more!
It all depends on what they were trying to do. It is highly likely that the continued functionality of the satellite is completely irrelevent – thus the battery power. Nuclear warheads, after all, are usually suborbital. What I suspect that the Iranians are doing is testing their launch infrastructure and personnel.
That they are purchasing the equipment from the Russians is also not overly important. The Russians are one of the major suppliers of space-capable hardware, and many of the second-tier countries with space programs are basing their hardware on Russian designs. I rather suspect that one of the next boosters that they launch will be home-grown.
Paul of Alexandria: Agreed. This launch was clearly not intended to initiate a communications satellite program (for example) any more than Sputnik was many decades earlier. The Iranians have now demonstrated that they can put a package anywhere on the planet that they want.
If Iranians spend billions and can’t get a simple job done, then what is all the worries about them accessing nuclear bombs? It seems that the bomb, if launched, will explode before it leaves whatever desert it is being shot from. I guess what I am asking is that why are the israelis and US conservatives so scared of Iran when they are so clumsy? Or there is more going on and we are not told? Isn’t it enough to scare the hell out of the public and have honest policies instead of using outdated scare tactics? These scare tactics didn’t work in the US election but it worked in the Israeli election which is more important since change in the US policy can be easily cancelled by the Israel Lobby and their financial wings. Obama has to deal with the economy and his term will be over before he can make any meaningful changes in the US foreign policy. Israel has the power and the influence in the US to stop any efforts that may be harmful to its policies.
What does this say about Russian technology? Is it that the Russians are selling sub-standard birds, or that the Persians can’t put it together correctly, or both?
If the Persians can’t put a satellite together right, given pre-assembled parts, why are we so concerned that they can manage to build a nuke?
I have been tossing around all of these ideas on Iran lately. From what I have read, Iran will be pushing it to even build one bomb.
(1) If they do manage to get one to blow up on cue (preferred) or accidentally, they will be starting over on building more. That is assuming they try a test detonation to prove their design. Project Manhattan had a few duds before they worked the kinks out.
(2) If they can build another bomb, assuming a good test, we will all know. If they fire another rocket into space with a warhead next time, we will know it, and they will have ensured that they will be destroyed by a return attack. They bring a bomb to the fight, the world has a full arsenal to respond.
(3) My third consideration is that the religious fanatics want death and destruction to fall on their people, forcing a fulfillment of their prophesys. In other words that is their goal, and we need to take out the nuke stuff soon.
No real good options. Obaba’s “Let’s talk” strategy will work as well as Carter’s did.
The muslim world is technologically backwards- their expertise peaked with the explosive suicide vest. Anything more complicated than a toaster, they have to buy from somewhere else.
The ‘Iranian bomb’ will likely go off in their faces when they try to assemble it.
Primitives.
so in other words, when they DO build and launch an ICBM, it could land anywhere. Nice.
I’m certainly no fan of the Iranian regime, but certainly NASA has had their share of failures since they began. I wouldn’t expect them to be successful the first time out.
However, pretending that it was successful when it wasn’t is so typical of them.
Of course, what they (like North Korea) plans to do with a working rocket system should be intolerable to the rest of the world.
It’s a club, certain folks aren’t invited, too bad. Way it should be anyway.
That’s because IRAN SUCKS AT EVERYTHING
HAW HAW! EVERYONE POINT AND LAUGH AT THE MULLAHS
The Russians are able to put a satellite into space. So if this one is falling down either the Russians didn’t put it into space or the Russians built the sat but the Iranians built the launcher and it’s the launcher that failed to put the thing into a correct orbit.
On the one hand I’d probably not be interested in an auto built in Iran or fly in a plane built in Iran. On the other hand they seem determined to enrich uranium and improve their rocket firing capability. It seems like either they’re trying to build a nuclear weapon or make us think they are. Doesn’t seem smart not to believe them.
Well, Islamic Iran needs to build nuclear weaponry systems to continue Islamic revolution and getting some sense of security over regime change policy.
So $1 billion is nothing compare to what they have wasted since past 20 years to get their hands on nuclear enrichment system.
As long as ayatollahs can suck petrol money to fulfill their dreams, they continue to do so and people hurt the most with the crumbling economy and very poor and abusive human Rights records.
http://www.rottengods.com
Marc Boyd, #12: (2) If they can build another bomb, assuming a good test, we will all know. If they fire another rocket into space with a warhead next time, we will know it, and they will have ensured that they will be destroyed by a return attack. They bring a bomb to the fight, the world has a full arsenal to respond.
But does the world have the will to respond in said manner, especially knowing full well that six or seven figures’ worth of Iranian innocents would be likely to die in such a response? That’s the big question.
IF their intent was to test an ICBM and or a FOB (fractional orbital bomb) then their program was entirely successful. Next time, it might be a warhead intended for an EMP attack. Detonated in the atmosphere, a massive EMP would desroy the electrical grid in the USA, crippiling us with one blow.
OR, they might be getting ready to nuke Israel. We simply don’t know. Either way, we have already demosntrated by word and action that we have no stomach for war. So, Iran can basically do whatever the Mullahs want. Without nuclear testing, our arsenal is unreliable and most likely, useless. Even if our nukes are operationa, does anyone think Obama would have the will to use them?
Iran has plenty of fine scientists and engineers – many got PhD’s at western universities. That a first attempt failed to reach optimal orbital parameters just ells us that they will need to tweak things a bit.
It is stupid to treat the Iranians as intellectually inferior. They aren’t. They have far more technical resources than Iraq, and Saddam was able to enrich Uranium, make nerve agents (not too hard) and make biological weapons (a little harder).
Give the Iranians time, and they’ll have a nuclear weapon deliverable anywhere on earth, and the ability to inflict a devastating EMP attack on any country on earth with only one weapon.
This is so biased even if most of this was true its still biased as hell. I went and researched this, according to articles published during the time of this satellite launch this satellite wasn’t even supposed to stay up there for long. This was their first satellite, just launching it was a success, apparently confirmed by NASA. This is basically a more modern version of Sputnik (the first man-made satellite). The writer tried so hard even though the writer had nothing to base this off of. I’m doing a major in Astronautical and Aeronautical Engineering I should know.
Ricky thanks i was reading this anf thinking all these people have no idea and are so dumb in believing all this crap!