Enlarge / Replica Iranian missiles are shown alongside the Simorgh rocket, left, on display at the Holy/Sacred Defense Museum, a vast complex that commemorates the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, in Tehran, Iran, on February 3, 2016. (credit: Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A pair of Iranian satellites failed to reach orbit on Sunday after their Simorgh launch vehicle failed to inject them with enough velocity.
“Stage-1 and stage-2 motors of the carrier functioned properly and the satellite was successfully detached from its carrier, but at the end of its path it did not reach the required speed for being put in the orbit,” Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state TV, per an AP report.
The Simorgh rocket is a more powerful variant of a small-satellite launch vehicle developed in the country, with a capacity of 350kg to orbit. It has a terrible track record, however, with at least three failures and no successful orbital missions. Sunday's launch was intended to help the country celebrate the upcoming February anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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