News / Defense

Dozens of indigenous satellites under construction in Iran, says Iranian Space Agency

Thursday, 22 August 2024 2:41 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 22 August 2024 7:24 PM ]

Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hossein Salariyeh says the country is currently building as many as 30 domestically-designed satellites for a variety of purposes.

Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hossein Salariyeh says the country has achieved remarkable progress in the space industry over the past three years and is currently building dozens of domestically-designed satellites for various purposes.

Salariyeh said on Thursday that 30 indigenous satellites are under construction in Iran, of which 20 will be built by the private sector.

The senior Iranian space official also noted that 12 satellites have been successfully put into orbit since August 2021. He said the Iranian Space Agency has 14 satellites scheduled for launch.

The pace of designing and manufacturing homegrown satellites has accelerated as the ISA has set up joint projects with the private sector, Salariyeh said.

Iran's space agency says to launch Kowsar, Hodhod satellites

Iran is poised to launch two satellites developed by the private sector.

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has taken giant strides in the civilian space program.

The country is among the world’s top 10 nations capable of developing and launching satellites.

Earlier this year, Iran successfully sent the homegrown Mahda research satellite, along with two research cargoes, to space onboard the domestically developed Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite launch vehicle (SLV).

Mahda weighs 32 kilograms and its primary task is to test the satellite-related subsystems, verify the function of Simorgh SLV in dispensing space cargoes, and evaluate the performance of new designs and the reliability of indigenous technologies in space.

Earlier, the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully put the Soraya satellite into an orbit 750 kilometers above Earth in 11 minutes.

The research satellite, manufactured by the ISA, was launched with a Qaem-100 space launch vehicle (SLV). Qaem-100 is a three-stage SLV with solid fuel developed by the IRGC Aerospace Force.

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