On February 9, Iran unsuccessfully launched a Simorgh rocket carrying a “Zafar 1” communications satellite. According to Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini, “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 [sic] orbit.” The launch took place at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province. It follows three failed satellite launches in January, February and August 2019.