Iran boosts space ambitions with launch of first private satellites

Iranian satellites Kowsar and Hodhod have been successfully launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region.

The satellites were developed by the private Iranian company Space Omid, representing a significant milestone for Iran’s private space sector, Caliber.Az reports via Iranian media.

This launch marks Iran’s first venture into private satellite production and deployment. The Kowsar satellite is designed for Earth observation, equipped with the capability to generate high-resolution images that will aid in agriculture, environmental protection, and disaster response.

Its imaging is achieved using an RGB camera with 3.45-meter resolution and an NIR camera with 5.5-meter resolution, supported by a maximum platform weight of 35 kilograms.

The satellite’s orbital period is 5,677 seconds, with pointing and stability accuracies of 1 degree and 0.05 degrees per second, respectively.

Power is sustained by its 44-watt-hour production capacity, and it consumes 29 watt-hours to operate its payloads.

Meanwhile, Hodhod is a small satellite intended for communication purposes, including satellite communications networks and the Internet of Things (IoT), with the potential to provide services in remote and hard-to-access areas.

This isn't the first Iranian satellite launch involving a Soyuz rocket. In 2022, the Khayyam satellite, also designed for Earth observation, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome as part of a collaboration between Russia and Iran, a partnership formalized through an agreement signed in 2015.

Additionally, the Russian-Chinese Druzhba ATURK student satellite was put into orbit alongside the Iranian satellites. Both the Kowsar and Hodhod satellites are the first launched on behalf of Iran’s private sector, with Kowsar expected to operate for three years and Hodhod for four.

The launch comes at a time of strengthening relations between Russia and Iran, which plan to solidify their cooperation through a comprehensive strategic partnership. This collaboration has drawn criticism from Ukraine and Western countries, accusing Tehran of supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Despite this, the two nations continue to pursue joint initiatives, including further satellite launches.

Iran’s previous space endeavours have seen a mix of success and failure. While the country's civilian space program faced challenges with its Simorgh satellite launcher, Iran’s military space program, run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has successfully launched satellites from a military base in Shahroud.

By Tamilla Hasanova