Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Tehran- In the first step of its kind, the Iranian private sector launched two satellites using the Russian Soyuz satellite carrier, which was launched at dawn on Tuesday from the Vostochny base east of… Moscow To space, in the third cooperation experience in the field of space between… Tehran and Moscow, which are subject to US sanctions.
The Russian “Soyuz” rocket carried the Hodhud and Kawsar satellites, manufactured by the Iranian “Amid Space” Company, along with 53 other satellites, and successfully placed them in orbit 500 kilometers from the Earth’s surface, after the Russian missile placed the “Pars 1” satellite last February. In August 2022, the Iranian “Khiam” satellite was in low orbit.
The Amed Space Company, which is active in the Iranian private sector, previously announced that it began working on the design and production of the Kawthar satellite in 2019, and was able to complete it within 4 years. Through the experience it gained in its first project, it was able to complete the Hodhud moon project within one year.
The launch of the Iranian Kawthar and Hodhud satellites aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket coincides with the US presidential elections on the one hand, and with the final preparations for signing the comprehensive cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow on the other hand.
Specifications and features
The company explained in reports published on its official channel on the Iranian “ETA” platform, that the Kawthar satellite weighs 30 kilograms, and is capable of capturing high-quality color images suitable for mapping and use in land surveying, agriculture, natural resources management, disasters, and environmental monitoring, and its orbital age is about 3 years. Years.
As for the communications satellite, the Hudhud, its weight is 4 kilograms, and it is used in several fields, including Internet of Things services, transportation, and the environment, as well as its ability to survey land and agriculture. It is expected to remain in orbit for 4 years.
According to reports from the Amed Space Company, it was founded in 2018 by a group of young Iranians aged 25 years, with the aim of developing satellite systems within the private sector. It cooperated with some other emerging companies to complete the Kawthar and Hodhud satellites, with the support of the Scientific Assistant in the Presidency. Iranian.
Goals and concerns
The launch of the Kawthar and Hodhud satellites at dawn today comes after a delay that lasted more than a year, as the General Director of the Amed Space Company, Dr. Hussein Shahrabi, attributes the reason for the repeated postponement of the launch of the two Iranian satellites to coordination with the company operating the Russian satellite carrier.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Shahrabi explained that the two satellites and dozens of other satellites that were launched into space at dawn today are considered subsidiary, and that the Russian Soyuz rocket was launched for two Russian satellites that represent the main payload for the launch experiment this day, explaining that the two Russian satellites were not completed on time. pre-determined, which had to be postponed more than once.
Regarding the reason for his decision to launch the two satellites using a Russian missile, despite the experience that his country has in launching satellites into low Earth orbits, Shahrabi explains that the Soyuz missile is considered one of the safest and most skillful satellite carriers, and that he cannot accept taking risks regarding the success of the launch test or not for the first time. His own company’s products.
He added that his company is the first of its kind in the private sector in Iran, and that it plans to enter the satellite services market at the international level, and therefore it chose to make its first experiments commensurate with its future vision, thus exceeding local capabilities and energies.
Space ambitions
For his part, the Iranian researcher in technical affairs, Boria Astarki, classifies the launch of the Hodhud and Kawsar satellites as “the first successful experience of the Iranian private sector in the field of space,” and that it represents a serious indicator of the activity of private companies in the space industry in his country.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Astarki said that the Kawthar surveillance and sensing satellite and the Hudhud communications satellite follow the standard for cubic models for satellites, which contributes to shortening the time and costs in their construction, explaining that his country’s space program went through 3 stages: it began in military institutions, and was expanded by academic circles. And finally culminated in the contribution of private companies.
The Iranian researcher pointed out that the Iranian Space Organization has put the inauguration of the “Chabahar” space base in the southeast of the country on its agenda during the next stage, to facilitate the launch of satellites for private companies working in the field of civil satellite industry, considering the completion of other space projects in the Iranian private sector as a great progress for the program. Tehran Satellite.
The spokesman pointed out that the United States imposed sanctions in 2019 on the National Space Agency, the Space Research Center, and the National Institute for Astronautical Research in Iran, stressing that his country was able to obtain the full cycle of space technology despite European and American pressure on it.
He believed that the US sanctions on Tehran’s space program aim to undermine it, by threatening the foreign scientific community from cooperating with Tehran, adding that despite the space achievements achieved by the scientific community in Iran, the sanctions may have hindered the pace of development in the Iranian space industry.
