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Iran - Spacefaring Nation
[Tycho?]![[Tycho?]](https://us.v-cdn.net/5018289/uploads/userpics/934/nHG8VEMRTY5QM.gif)
As elusive as doubtRegistered User regular
As elusive as doubtRegistered User regular
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSHAF75296620080817
So, I'm not sure why this isn't front page news, perhaps they're skeptical that Iran is making this up.
Regardless, this is huge. Iran has put up a satellite before, but not by itself. Iran supplied the satellite, which was launched by a Russian rocket. But this seems to be all Iran. If this story is accurate, and if the launch was successful and this dummy satellite is in orbit, it means that Iran has all the technology to make ICBMs, that can hit anywhere in the world.
Of course they don't yet have nukes for the warheads, nor the advanced guidance systems required to actually hit anything, but the basics are all there. The US should be flipping out over this pretty soon. Although it will be interesting to see what their response is, and how they emphasize it in the media. With these troubles with Russia the US may be worried that its propaganda is getting diluted.
Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time today - a move likely to increase Western concerns about its nuclear ambitions.
So, I'm not sure why this isn't front page news, perhaps they're skeptical that Iran is making this up.
Regardless, this is huge. Iran has put up a satellite before, but not by itself. Iran supplied the satellite, which was launched by a Russian rocket. But this seems to be all Iran. If this story is accurate, and if the launch was successful and this dummy satellite is in orbit, it means that Iran has all the technology to make ICBMs, that can hit anywhere in the world.
Of course they don't yet have nukes for the warheads, nor the advanced guidance systems required to actually hit anything, but the basics are all there. The US should be flipping out over this pretty soon. Although it will be interesting to see what their response is, and how they emphasize it in the media. With these troubles with Russia the US may be worried that its propaganda is getting diluted.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
and france and the uk don't like what he's doing very much either
I find that these days I'm less and less surprised whenever another nation announces a viable space program. The technology is pretty well understood, and more and more of the technology required is available off-the-shelf. We're now getting to the stage that launching equipment into orbit is on the verge of becoming the domain of private enterprise.
Hell, look at that guy who was building his own cruise missile in New Zealand a few years ago.
Heyooooo
Yeah. From a tech point of view its not really a big deal. China, India, Japan, the EU are all space-faring now. I'm sure the club will only get bigger.
Its "huge" though from a political point of view. Not only the ICBMs, this is opens the way for the Iranians to get spy satellites, their own telecommunications satellites, eventually their own GPS system. For a nation that is quite isolated, this is a big deal.
Oh sure, in that sense it's definitely a big development. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Technology necessarily becomes better understood and more widespread, so inevitably any country capable of sustaining a few credible universities will be able to come up with viable programs for things that were cutting edge a decade or so ago.
If the US (or anyone, for that matter) really wants to make an issue out of it they're going to have to remember that the problems are political, not technological.