posted 02-25-2007 09:51 AM               

Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space.

But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit.

Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers.

posted 02-25-2007 11:17 AM               

Iran has launched a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research not a missile capable of reaching space as earlier reported, an aerospace official told an Iranian news agency on Sunday.

Ali Akbar Golrou, the executive deputy of Iran's aerospace research center, told Fars News Agency the rocket would not stay in orbit but could rise to about 150 km (94 miles) into atmosphere before falling to earth by parachute...

"What was announced by the head of the research center was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Golrou said, denying the earlier report.

So-called "sounding rockets" are often used to probe atmospheric conditions between 45 km and 160 km (28 miles and 100 miles) above the earth, between the maximum altitude of weather balloons and the minimum altitude of orbiting satellites.

posted 02-04-2008 08:53 AM               

Iran on Monday opened a new space centre that will launch its first home-built research satellite, saying the inauguration marked another step forward in its battle against Western dominance.

A rocket was fired into space at the remote desert centre in northern Iran to mark the event, the second time the Islamic republic has attempted to fire a rocket into space.

The pictures showed the rocket heading out towards space but no information was given on what height it reached. A small probe was seen falling back to earth on a parachute but it was not clear what it contained.

posted 08-17-2008 11:48 AM               

Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite.

Officials said only the rocket had been fired, correcting state media reports that the communications satellite itself had been sent into orbit.

Tehran has pursued a space programme for years, despite international concern over its nuclear plans.

In February it sent a probe into space as part of preparations for the launch of the satellite.

Iran has launched its first domestically-manufactured satellite into orbit, reports say.

An Iranian news network, IRINN, showed footage of what it said was a communications satellite named Safir-e Omid (Hope Envoy) being launched.

The pictures were accompanied by patriotic songs and music.

Iran has pursued its own space programme for years. In February it sent a probe into space as part of preparations for this launch.

posted 08-17-2008 03:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
The launch vehicle was a modified single stage Shahab-3 ballistic missile...

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Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir-e Omid, or Ambassador of Peace, was successful, state TV said, broadcasting images of the nighttime launch.

The rocket released equipment that beamed flight data back to ground control, said Reza Taghipoor, the head of Iran's Space Agency, in a live television interview.

Iran put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time on Sunday, proving its capacity to launch satellites, the head of Iran's aerospace body said.

"The Safir satellite carrier was launched today (Sunday) and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit," Reza Taghizadeh told state television.

Iranian state media had earlier wrongly reported that Iran had put a domestically made Omid (Hope) satellite into orbit.

posted 08-17-2008 03:29 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
"The Safir satellite carrier was launched today (Sunday) and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit," Reza Taghizadeh told state television.

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posted 08-17-2008 04:21 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
The Safir is a Shahab-3 variant...

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Fars News Agency: Iran Sends First Satellite into Orbit

The satellite named Omid (Hope) has been designed and built by Iranian specialists and was orbited by an Iranian carrier rocket.

In a message issued on Sunday, the Joint Chief of Staff said the rocket carrying the country's first satellite, was successfully fired on the birth Anniversary of the last Imam of Shiites, Hazrat Mahdi, thus illustrating the auspicious name of the Imam in the space.

Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics said Friday that in presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's 'Safir' (Messenger) satellite-carrier rocket, carrying Iran's first 'Omid' (Hope) Satellite, was successfully launched into the space tentatively on Sunday.

The Ministry statement, a copy of which was made available to IRNA on Sunday, said the launch thus paved the way for placing the first Iranian satellite in orbit.

posted 08-18-2008 10:39 AM               

The Pentagon does not believe an Iranian rocket test over the weekend was successful, despite reports in the official Iranian media saying the Islamic Republic had launched its first vehicle capable of placing a satellite in orbit.

"The Iranians did not successfully launch the rocket," a senior U.S. defense official told CNN Monday.

The two-stage rocket could have been capable of launching a satellite into space, but the U.S. intelligence assessment shows that the second stage "was erratic and out of control," said the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the intelligence.

The rocket "did not perform as designed," the official said.

posted 08-18-2008 04:35 PM               

A day after Iran declared that it had test-fired a new rocket capable of launching a satellite, the country said Monday that it was prepared to help other Muslim countries send up satellites. But by then, Pentagon and military officials in Washington were concluding that the Iranian missile launching had been a failure.

On Monday, Reza Taghipour, head of Iran's space agency, told state television: "I am announcing now that Iran is ready to launch satellites of friendly Islamic countries into space."

posted 08-19-2008 01:22 PM               

Iran's flight test of a space launch vehicle failed Aug. 17, according to radar tracking by a U.S. Navy destroyer and infrared data from U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning spacecraft.

Key data on the failure were provided by the USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer patrolling the Persian Gulf.

Other U.S. intelligence assets gave the Russell and missile warning satellite system advanced notice of the test, enabling extra preparation for tracking its outcome.

Although Iranian television views of the night launch of the Safir show a successful liftoff and initial climbout, radar data from the Russell and DSP infrared data show the vehicle went out of control at high altitude, never completing its ascent profile.

posted 02-03-2009 12:46 AM               

Iran says it has launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the launch had been successful and that with it Iran had "officially achieved a presence in space".

The satellite, carried on a Safir-2 rocket, was meant for telecommunication and research purposes, state TV said.

...the launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite had been expected and was clearly timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran.

Mr Ahmadinejad said the satellite was launched to spread "monotheism, peace and justice" in the world.

...last August, Iran said it had successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite, having in February launched a low-orbit research rocket as part of preparations for the satellite launch.

That launch marked the inauguration of a new space centre, at an unidentified desert location, which included an underground control station and satellite launch pad.

posted 02-03-2009 08:59 AM               

The small Omid communications satellite was launched Monday evening aboard a Safir 2 rocket, the Fars news agency reported.

Two objects from the launch, likely the Omid satellite and part of its booster, are circling Earth in oval-shaped orbits.

The orbits range in altitude from low points of 153 miles to high points of 235 miles and 273 miles. The orbital inclination is 55.5 degrees, according to U.S. military tracking data.

Iran joins a small group of countries with the ability to build and launch their own satellites into orbit.

The former Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in October 1957. The United States followed with the successful launch of Explorer 1 in January 1958.

France, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, India and Israel later developed and successfully flew their own space launchers.

Iran is the first new space-faring nation since Israel joined the club in 1988.

posted 02-03-2010 08:08 AM               

In what seemed designed as a display of technological advance, Iran said on Wednesday that it had fired a rocket into space carrying living organisms -- a rat, two turtles and worms, according to the official broadcaster Press TV.

The test of what was described as the Kavoshgar-3 rocket, capable of carrying satellites, came as Tehran government faced challenges on many fronts...

The rocket involves an empirical bio-capsule and flight computer and it is able to send telemetric data and scan and send date simultaneously.

It is also able to send pictures simultaneously to the mobile ground station, control flight computer during the process and display the bio-capsule and its living creatures...

posted 03-17-2011 10:54 AM               

...the Kavoshgar-4 rocket was launched on Tuesday carrying a capsule designed to contain living organisms, a test run for future launches carrying monkeys, ahead of an eventual manned space mission.

The launch aimed to test the performance of the engine, the launch pad, the capsule and electronic systems, including "data and images sent from a 120 km (75 mile) orbit," IRNA said.

posted 10-12-2011 01:42 PM               

"The Kavoshgar-5 rocket carrying a capsule with a live animal (a monkey) was launched during Shahrivar," an Iranian calendar month spanning August 23 to September 22, Deputy Science Minister Mohammad Mehdinejad-Nouri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"However, the launch was not publicised as all of its anticipated objectives were not accomplished," Mehdinejad-Nouri told reporters.

He said the launch of a live animal into space was "strategic, and a priority," and expressed hope that future launches would attain more of the objectives set.

On October 3, Iran indefinitely postponed plans to send a live monkey into space, without giving any reasons.

"One cannot give a set date for this project and as soon as our nation's scientists announce the readiness (of the project) it will be announced," said Hamid Fazeli, head of Iran's Space Organisation.

The project envisaged launching a capsule with life support using the Kavoshgar-5 rocket to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a 20-minute sub-orbital flight.

posted 02-03-2012 12:12 PM               

The Iranian Space Agency launched the new "Promise of Science and Industry" satellite into orbit today using a Safir 1-B rocket, according to a translation of a statement posted to the agency's Farsi-language website. Safir means "Ambassador" in Farsi.

The new Iranian satellite weighs about 110 pounds (50 kilograms) and was built by students at the Sharif University of Technology, according to a report by Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency.

According to the Iranian Space Agency, the satellite is shaped like a cube that is nearly 20 inches (50 centimeters) wide. It is circling Earth in an elliptical orbit and passes over Iran six times a day. The satellite will fly a two-month mission and is controlled via five ground stations, one each in the cities of Karaj, Tabriz, Qeshm, Bushehr and Mashhad, Iranian space officials said.

posted 01-15-2013 02:51 PM               

Reportedly, the Islamic Republic is looking to send a monkey into space — and return it alive. Iran tried unsuccessfully to launch a monkey into the heavens and bring it back to earth in 2011.

posted 01-28-2013 08:31 AM               

Iran says it has successfully sent a monkey into space.

The primate travelled in a Pishgam rocket, which reached an altitude of some 120km (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight before "returning its shipment intact", the defence ministry said.

Iranian state TV showed images of the monkey, which was strapped into a harness, being taken to the rocket.

posted 02-02-2013 11:59 AM               

A senior Iranian space official says one of two official photos of its famed simian space traveler depicted the wrong monkey, but that the primate really did fly up into orbit and return safely.

Mohammad Ebrahimi also told the The Associated Press the monkey's name: Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi. The Iranian media originally said that the "Pishgam" was the rocket which reportedly took him Monday into space and returned him to earth after 20 minutes.

Ebrahimi said Saturday that photos of two different monkeys were released by the Iranian media. One was an archive photo of a backup monkey.

posted 12-14-2013 04:30 AM               

Iran says it has successfully sent a monkey into space for the second time this year as part of a programme aimed at manned space flight.

President Hassan Rouhani said the monkey - named Fargam, or Auspicious - returned from space in perfect health.

However, the success of the first monkey flight was disputed when a different animal was shown in images released after the landing.

posted 12-14-2013 03:30 PM               

The launch was part of the nation's national Research Week, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.

The monkey's name is Fargam, a combination of two Farsi words "auspicious" and "luck." Fargam was launched 75 miles (120 kilometers) up into space and back in the 15-minute mission, IRNA reported.

posted 01-20-2015 09:54 AM               

Authorities are spreading the space agency’s manpower and assets across four ministries including the telecoms ministry and the ministry of defense.

...it's possible that Iran could launch a few of its remaining rockets. But with no single space agency and no sustained funding, Tehran's orbital ambitions all but ended on Jan. 9.

posted 02-02-2015 07:50 AM               

Iran on Monday (Feb. 2) successfully placed into orbit the domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite, the country's Press TV reports.

The satellite is capable of staying in the space for 1.5 years and can taking and transmitting high-quality and accurate pictures to stations on earth.

Fajr satellite is technically characterized by an orbit which could promote from 250 to 450 kilometers through a thruster or an engine.

It is the new generation of Omid (Hope) satellite, which was designed and manufactured by Iranian experts in 2009.

Equipped with GPS navigation system, Fajr is the fourth Iranian-made satellite which was put into orbit after three others between 2009 and 2012.

...President Rouhani congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Fajr satellite and said the Iranian scientists have entered a new phase in space sciences.

He added that the Iranian government is determined to press ahead with its national space program, adding, "We will proceed with this path until a phase that we will be able to meet our national needs in space by all [Iranian] scientists and through local technology."

posted 02-02-2015 03:30 PM               

I interpreted the original article to say that the civilian program was finished but that rocket and other development would be carried out by other more clandestine agencies:

Authorities are spreading the space agency's manpower and assets across four ministries including the telecoms ministry and the ministry of defense.

Also, the blog's statement that "Iranian space research centers designed at least 24 experimental satellites, but only three ever went to space on Tehran's rockets" could indicate that they never were all that serious about satellite development. What are they interested in? Rocket technology capable of warhead delivery perhaps. And now that they've achieved that, they no longer require use of the cover story.

posted 02-09-2020 01:13 PM               

The launch happened at 7:15 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's Semnan province, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket couldn't put the Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit, however, due to a low speed, Iranian state TV reported.

"Stage-1 and stage-2 motors of the carrier functioned properly and the satellite was successfully detached from its carrier, but at the end of its path it did not reach the required speed for being put in the orbit," Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state TV.

posted 01-20-2024 07:15 PM               

In a statement published by state media, the aerospace unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it launched into orbit the Sorayya satellite with an indigenous Qaem 100 satellite carrier.

The satellite with a 50 kg payload was placed into an orbit 750 kilometers (460 miles) above the Earth’s surface by a three-stage Qaem 100 carrier, which is equipped to carry up to 100 kg, Communications and Information Technology Minister Isa Zarepour told state media.

posted 09-14-2024 09:55 AM               

The "Chamran-1" research satellite was launched this morning by Qaem 100 satellite carrier and was successfully put into orbit.

The "Chamran-1" research satellite was designed and built by the Iran Electronic Industries Space Group (Sairan) with the cooperation and participation of the Aerospace Research Institute and knowledge-based private companies.

This satellite weighs about 60 kg and its main mission is to test hardware and software systems to prove the orbital maneuvering technology in altitude and phase.

The evaluation of cold gas propulsion subsystem in space systems and the performance of navigation and situation control subsystems is considered as a sub-mission of "Chamran-1" satellite. The orbit of "Chamran-1" satellite is circular and its stabilization type is rotating. The propulsion type is cold gas and its hexagonal diameter is 900 mm. Its TT&C band is VHF-UHF&S.

The Qaem 100 solid fuel rocket, which was designed and built by the specialists of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, was able to successfully complete the orbital operation of the "Chamran-1" satellite in its second orbital operation.