An Iranian rocket exploded on a launch pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center before its scheduled launch. Satellite images from Planet Labs Inc. first revealed smoke rising from the site. An Iranian official acknowledged the explosion, which he said was "due to some technical issues," but gave no additional details. Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said in mid-August that Iran was preparing to launch Nahid 1, a telecommunications satellite.