Tehran:Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully sent the first Iranian military satellite into the space, to break the monopoly of space technology by a few powers.

The IRGC launched the Satellite Noor-1 by the domestically-built launcher Qassed (herald) on Wednesday morning and placed it into the orbit at an altitude of 425km.

The Launcher Qassed is a three-stage launcher using compound soild-liquid fuel.

The satellite was sent to the space on the anniversary of the IRGC establishment (April 22, 1979).

In a chain of achievements and breakthroughs by Iran’s Armed Forces, especially IRGC, Commander of the IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said on Monday that Iran has increased the range of its naval missiles to 700 kilometers.

“Once the farthest range of our naval missiles did not exceed 45 km and even that was reached with the help of American military advisors,” Tangsiri said.

“However, we have developed subsurface and surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 700 kilometers, which have been totally made by domestic military experts,” he added.

Meanwhile Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced that Iran has joined the superpowers which are capable of using combined fuel in satellite carriers after launching its first military satellite on the back of the home-made Qassed carrier.

“The satellite carrier is different from the previous ones as its propulsion system is a combination of liquid and solid fuel. The propulsion system has the same non-metal and composite body which was unveiled a while ago,” Hajizadeh said on Wednesday.

“Naturally, only the superpowers enjoy this capability and others are only consumers of this technology,” he added.

General Hajizadeh underlined that “access to the space is not a choice but an inevitable necessity and we should find our place in the space”.

The IRGC successfully launched and placed Iran’s first military satellite into the orbit on Wednesday.

The IRGC fired the satellite aboard Qassed (Carrier) satellite carrier during an operation that was staged in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s sprawling Central desert.

The satellite was placed into the orbit 425km above Earth’s surface.

The announcement was made on the day when the elite military force is marking the anniversary of its establishment on April 22, 1979 upon an order by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.

Marking the occasion, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei expressed his gratitude towards the IRGC for its performance.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami said earlier today that the military satellite, Nour 1, will further boost the IRGC defense force’s strategic power of intelligence and information.

“Today, we can see the world from space and this means expansion of the strategic intelligence and information of IRGC’s powerful defense force,” General Salami said.

He added that launching the multi-task satellite can both create strategic added value in intelligence battles and power in intelligence wars.

General Salami said that all parts of the satellite, including the carrier and satellite, have been produced by the Iranian scientists despite the US sanctions, noting that the message of this important achievement is that sanctions are not an obstacle on the way of Iran’s progress and will further motivate the country to turn into a big power in the region and even the world in the new technologies.

Hajizadeh said the IRGC is going to employ solid fuel in the next launches, saying such fuel will decrease the size of the satellite carrier.

The commander finally noted that the IRGC is trying to launch the next satellite into space in a not-too-distant future, saying it will be placed into a higher orbit and have greater efficiency.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued a message on Wednesday, appreciating the efforts of IRGC.

The message was delivered by Brigadier General Mohammad Shirazi, the head of the military office of the Leader, in a phone conversation with IRGC Chief Commander Major General Salami.

“Send my greetings to all IRGC personnel and their families on the occasion of the force’s formation anniversary,” Leader said. “I appreciate good performance and IRGC’s efforts and I pray for them.”

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps was founded on April 22, 1979, by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini, founding father of the Islamic Revolution.