Serbia developing country's first nanosatellite with China's support

The Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade is developing Serbia's first nanosatellite with China's support as the two countries strengthen space cooperation.

For almost a century, astronomers at the Belgrade observatory have explored the universe through a telescope. Now, with a technological quantum leap for them, scientists of this observatory are working on the MOSAIC satellite project. Chinese partners are providing technical expertise, launch support, and the satellite platform itself.

The satellite is set to be launched by the end of 2027, with one of its primary tasks to be monitoring X-ray radiation from the Sun.

Speaking to a CGTN reporter, an astronomer at the observatory offered a glimpse into the satellite's critical components.

"I will show you quickly on this spectrometer. Here we have a pre-amplifier. This is this part, but this is the detector for X-rays. This is an extremely sensitive part of the instrument and should not be touched by hand," said Dr. Milan Stojanovic at the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade, who leads the Serbian team of the MOSAIC project, while showcasing a spectrometer.

Researchers also plan to capture the first image of Serbia taken from a Serbian satellite in orbit.

The Serbian side originally planned a smaller three-unit CubeSat, a class of small satellites.

"But after our collaboration with Chinese colleagues, we discussed about it to have eight units of CubeSat. So it is, I have to say, a big step to form a space agency in Serbia and also very important to use the experience that China has," said Luka Popovic, director of the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade.

Projects like MOSAIC are attracting growing attention in Serbia, not only within the scientific community, but also among technology startups and students who increasingly see the space sector as a future development opportunity for them and the country.

Serbian officials say the mission could become the nucleus for a domestic space-orientated industry, with future plans for a ground communication and satellite control center. Plans also include building a future ground communication and satellite control center in Serbia.

"The Chinese government decided to help us to get the knowledge that we needed so that we can develop our own space program and space projects. Space is not reserved only for the large countries, and the Chinese side, when they offered us a collaboration, they told us that any country that has space ambitions can be part of that large family," said Zoran Tomic, advisor to the minister of science, technological development and innovations.

Serbia developing country's first nanosatellite with China's support

As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.

Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.

He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.

"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.

He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.

"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.

While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.

"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.

Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail