On April 15th the Financial Times alleged, based on leaked documents, that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force was utilizing the TEE-01B satellite1 to hit U.S. and Israeli military forces and assets in the Middle East, and communicating with the satellite via ground stations owned by Emposat (航天驭星).
Recently, Emposat, a satellite tracking, telemetry, and control enterprise in China’s commercial space sector, denied any knowledge of Iran utilizing its ground stations in statements via its website and WeChat blog. Part of that statement relevant to the allegation reads:
“Our global network of ground stations is entirely under our own control and operated independently. We have never granted any third-party access, usage rights, or control over our ground station network. … Upon learning of the relevant reports, our company took immediate action and launched an investigation into the matter. After verification, we hereby solemnly declare that we have no cooperation whatsoever with the military entities and related companies mentioned in the reports, nor have we ever cooperated with the ‘Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ or any other military-related entities.”
If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.
Emposat also added that they are committed to following China’s relevant export laws and the continued peaceful use of outer space. Additionally, Reuters has reported that China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (中华人民共和国外交部) and embassy in Washington D.C. denied any state links to the claimed activity.
Meanwhile, Earth Eye Co (沐美星空), operator and owner of TEE-01B, are yet to release a statement, having gone since June 2024 without putting out any news items. TEE-01B also remains the company’s sole satellite.
Related to that, Earth Eye Co, received a license to sell data and images collected from the satellite shortly after its launch. Specifically, the Chinese authorities expected it to collect information for crop census’, geographical mapping, and the imaging of regions after natural disasters.
At present, Emposat communicates with its own satellites and those for paying customers via its sites in Beijing (北京), Xi’an (西安)2, Zhengzhou (郑州)3, Zhongwei (中卫), Qitaihe (七台河)4, Jinghe (精河)5, Hebi (鹤壁)6, as well as those aboard in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the South Pacific. Part of the enterprise’s product line includes mobile satellite communication stations.
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