News Summaries for February 25

Iran Claims First Space Launch (Sources: Xinhua, BBC, NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Iran on Sunday claimed to have successfully launched its first rocket into space for the purpose of research. There are conflicting reports about the launch profile, with wire reports quoting one Iranian official who claimed the launch was sub-orbital, rising to 94 miles, before falling to earth by parachute. This contradicts Iranian State TV. No pictures of the reported launch have been shown on Iranian state TV, and no Western countries have confirmed tracking any such test-firing.

Iran's claim comes at a time of escalating tensions between Tehran and the West as Iran refused to heed the UN Security Council's Feb. 21 deadline to stop its uranium enrichment activities. "Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty," said Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran.

Satellite Launcher Arianespace Seeks To Boost US Business (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Europe's satellite launch group Arianespace hopes to boost its US business on rising demand for high-definition television, but said Thursday it remains locked out of lucrative US government contracts. Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace's director general, said in an interview that the company has ambitions to muscle into the commercial US market for satellite launch services during the next two or three years.