Iran telecom satellite lauch scheduled-(guidance/imaging + 4 more planned)

LONDON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Iran is set to launch a satellite this year that will provide telecommunications services and Earth imaging for the Islamic republic.

The Mesbah spacecraft will be Iran's second satellite launch in about three months and will be sent into orbit from the Polstesk launch facility in northern Russia, Ahmad Taleb-Zadeh, head of Iran Aerospace Organization, said.

The Sina-1 telecom satellite was launched last October. Iran has plans to launch four more birds after Mesbah.

Taleb-Zadeh's statements were reported by the English-language IranMania Web site and cited Iran's Iranian Labour News Agency.

Mesbah has been considered ready since last summer; however, IranMania said its launch was delayed so that the Russians could add other satellites to the rocket's payload.

LONG-RANGE DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Essential to the effectiveness of an NBC weapon is the delivery system that transports it to the intended target. The delivery system must be capable of carrying the weapon's weight, have sufficient range to reach the intended target, and possess enough accuracy to allow the weapon to do significant damage. For tactical applications, field artillery can be used, and Iran is believed to possess such munitions for at least its chemical agents. To strike targets at longer ranges, however, Iran needs to rely on either long range aircraft, such as its Soviet-supplied Su-24 strike aircraft, or surface-to-surface missiles.

BALLISTIC MISSILES: A GROWING CAPABILITY

The Iranians first began to acquire ballistic missiles in the mid-1980s, when the Libyans reportedly provided about 30 Soviet-built SCUD-C missiles with a 300-kilometer range. Since then, Iran has acquired additional missiles from North Korea and China, and has received assistance for indigenous development from China, North Korea, and Russia.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran has more than 400 surface-to-surface missiles: including about 25 CSS-8 launchers with 200 missiles, and about 10 SCUD launchers with 210 SCUD-B and SCUD-C missiles. (34) These missiles have sufficient range to hit targets in Iraq and the other states bordering the Persian Gulf. They cannot strike targets very far into Saudi Arabia, and are unable to reach Israel. In addition, the missiles are relatively inaccurate. (35)

Iran's efforts to develop a region-wide missile capability took a big step forward with the 1998 test launch of the Shahab-3. The United States believes that Russian technology has played a critical part in the development of the Shahab-3, though the missile itself is based on the North Korean No Dong. (36) In late 1999, a senior U.S. defense official reported that Iran was experiencing problems with the missile and had several unsuccessful tests. (37) However, in early 2000, the Iranians conducted another successful test launch of a Shahab-3, using one of a dozen North Korean rocket motors supplied to Tehran in early 1999. (38)

Iran is also believed to be working on more advanced systems. The Shahab-4 appears to be an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 2,000 kilometers. In contrast, it appears that the Shahab-5 will be a 10,000-kilometer range intercontinental range missile (ICBM). (39)

Significantly, the U.S. intelligence community is no longer confident about how long it will take Iran to develop an ICBM.

"If Iran follows a development time line similar to that demonstrated with the Shahab-3, which included significant foreign assistance, it would take Iran many years to develop a 9,000 to 10,000 km range ICBM capable of reaching the United States. But Iran could significantly shorten the acquisition time-and warning time-by purchasing key components or entire systems from potential sellers such as North Korea." (40)

The U.S. intelligence community's evolving views on Iran's chance of acquiring ICBMs are reflected in the unclassified version of a National Intelligence Estimate released in September 1999. According to the testimony of the National Intelligence Officer responsible for the report, North Korea is the most likely country to acquire an ICBM. He added that, "Iran is the next hostile country most capable of testing an ICBM capable of delivering a weapon to the United States during the next 15 years." Other assessments of Iranian missile capabilities include the following:

--Iran could test an ICBM that could deliver a several-hundred kilogram payload to many parts of the United States in the latter half of the next decade, using Russian technology and assistance.

--Iran could pursue a Taepo Dong-type ICBM and could test a Taepo Dong-1 or Taepo Dong-2-type ICBM, possibly with North Korean assistance, in the next few years.

--Iran is likely to test a space launch vehicle (SLV) by 2010 that-once developed-could be converted into an ICBM capable of delivering a several-hundred kilogram payload to the United States.

Beyond that, analysts differ on the likely timing of Iran's first flight test of an ICBM that could threaten the United States. Assessments include:

--likely before 2010 and very likely before 2015 (noting that an SLV with ICBM capabilities will probably be tested within the next few years);

--no more than an even chance by 2010 and a better than even chance by 2015;

--and less than an even chance by 2015. (41)

Given the available information, it is probably prudent to assume that Iran will possess a missile capable of striking U.S. cities by 2010.

The key problem for the Iranian ballistic missile program is the development of warhead designs to permit effective delivery of NBC weapons. As the Iranians develop longer-range systems, the need for more sophisticated warheads grows. A warhead suitable for use in a short-range missile such as the SCUD-B, which flies at a relatively low speed and does not leave the atmosphere, is unlikely to be useful in an ICBM missile.

To deliver effective biological and chemical weapons, Iran must develop warheads capable of delivering cluster munitions. The United States and Soviet Union are known to have developed such munitions and thus could be a source for such arms, if Moscow ignores U.S. pleas not to do so. (42)

CRUISE MISSILES: THE NEXT STAGE?

The Iranians also have an interest in cruise missiles-unmanned aircraft-like missiles with a self-contained guidance system. Using modern satellite navigation systems, cruise missiles can attain accuracies of less than 20 meters and can carry nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons (43)

Recently, Iran took a significant step forward in its efforts to develop cruise missile capabilities. According to the Washington Post, U.S. intelligence experts believe that Iran can now produce the C-802 anti-ship cruise missile, a Chinese system based on the French Exocet anti-ship missile. (44) If these reports are correct, Iran could adapt this system for delivering biological and chemical weapons against neighboring states. To reach more distant targets, it would need to develop a different system. (45)

Iran: We can spy on Israel snip
Head of Iran’s space program says Sina-1 satellite capable of spying on Israel.snipThe Ofek-5, launched in 2002, overflies Iran, Iraq and Syria. Israel hoped a more sophisticated Ofek-6 satellite would enhance its coverage of Iran but in 2004,

the satellite plummeted into the Mediterranean Sea

shortly after launch, dealing a blow to Israeli efforts to keep an eye on Iran’s controversial nuclear program. snip. Launching of four more satellites planned

Talebzadeh said Iran will launch its domestically-built satellite, known as Mesbah, into orbit in a month or two, also from a Russian launch site.
Iranian officials have said the country has been developing a Shahab-4 missile that will be used to launch a satellite into space. Iran has already upgraded its Shahab-3 missile, which now has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,240 miles.)

Authorities have not given details on when the Shehab-4 will be ready.

In January, Iran signed a USD 132 million deal with a Russian firm to build and launch a

telecommunications satellite called Zohreh, or Venus. Its launch is planned within the next two years

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3170444,00.html

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