Iran to put satellite into orbit in coming months

A satellite is prepared to be put in space, Hassan Salarieh told IRIB and predicted that as a result of the launch team's good efforts, the satellite would be launched in the Iranian autumn season.

Almost without being active in space, the sovereignty of countries is questionable and the states are unable to have full sovereignty, he underlined.

Management in the agricultural sector, which is associated with people's food security, will be highly costly and extremely incomplete without being active in space programs, he added.

He also referred to the important role of space services in dealing with traffic and transportation.

Security issues and monitoring of a country's borders without being present in space are slow and very incomplete, he further noted. It is essential to make use of the capacities of space in maintaining [full] security in the borders of the country, he pointed out.

He underlined the role of being active in space in monitoring meteorological conditions and dust storms.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he touched upon the effectiveness of space-related activities in managing subsidence, drought, and water resources as well as identifying unlawful constructions in mountains and forest resources and control of biological species.

Iran launched its first satellite Omid (Hope) in 2009 and its Rasad (Observation) satellite was sent into orbit in 2011. Earlier in April 2022, Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT), Issa Zare’pour, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will be turned into one of the main exporters of space-related services in the region in the very near future.

"We have several satellites at hand for launching into orbit. The Islamic Republic of Iran should soon become one of the exporters of space services to the region and Islamic countries because we are one of the top 10 countries that can build homegrown satellites. These satellites are also launched with a domestically-produced launcher,” the ICT minister added.

Meanwhile, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Commission, Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, said that the 13th government under President Ebrahim Raeisi is seriously determined to develop the space industry and is pursuing the development of space technology diligently.

In June 2020, a spokesman for the Iranian defense ministry, Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini, said that the Zoljanah satellite launch vehicle has been tested again for research purposes.
Zoljanah, also spelled Zuljanah, was made by the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics and was unveiled on 1 February 2021.

Also, IRGC Aerospace launched the 'Noor-2' Satellite by the domestically-built launcher Qassed (messenger) on March 8, 2022, and placed it into orbit at an altitude of 500 km. The mission of the satellite is reconnaissance, and it was placed in orbit after 480 seconds at a speed of 6.7 km/s.

Referring to the successful launch of the “Noor” satellite, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi termed a significant move taken by scientists of the country in achieving advanced technology “very valuable and honorable” and said that achieving this technology is one of the manifestations of national authority.