Iranian Space program

[TheImmortal]

This says Fajr satellite (similar weight to Nahid 1) was launched into a 224km x 470km orbit

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/fajr.htm

What am I missing?

I misspoke, I was confusing LEO orbit which starts at 1000KM.

Simorgh should be able to. But iran’s last stage booster to place satellite in orbit failed last time. So the SLV program has a terrible success right now. I think failure rate is higher than 70%

 

[Battle of Waterloo]

I misspoke, I was confusing LEO orbit which starts at 1000KM.

Simorgh should be able to. But iran’s last stage booster to place satellite in orbit failed last time. So the SLV program has a terrible success right now. I think failure rate is higher than 70%

Fajr satellite was put into that orbit with Safir SLV, not Simorgh. This Nahid-1 is also 50kg so will also be put into 250km orbit with Safir SLV.

Safir SLV has successfully put 4 satellites into orbit from 6 launches, that's a pretty good success rate.

Simorgh SLV only once tried to put a satellite into orbit and failed true, but showed progress from previous tests and if they can rectify the third stage issues by the end of the year (as they have suggested) then that would be good progress in my opinion.

 

[TheImmortal]

Fajr satellite was put into that orbit with Safir SLV, not Simorgh. This Nahid-1 is also 50kg so will also be put into 250km orbit with Safir SLV.

Safir SLV has successfully put 4 satellites into orbit from 6 launches, that's a pretty good success rate.

Simorgh SLV only once tried to put a satellite into orbit and failed true, but showed progress from previous tests and if they can rectify the third stage issues by the end of the year (as they have suggested) then that would be good progress in my opinion.

Who told you there were 6 launches of Safir? There have been MANY undisclosed launches that have failed as you can tell by post launch sat images of launch pads where there is extensive destruction.

Look at massive time gap between Iran’s first launches to now.

Safir is a weak SLV that is pushed to its limit to take a 50KG satellite to orbit.

Simorgh likely suffers from quality control issues and Sabotage.

 

[Battle of Waterloo]

Who told you there were 6 launches of Safir? There have been MANY undisclosed launches that have failed as you can tell by post launch sat images of launch pads where there is extensive destruction.

Look at massive time gap between Iran’s first launches to now.

Safir is a weak SLV that is pushed to its limit to take a 50KG satellite to orbit.

Simorgh likely suffers from quality control issues and Sabotage.

We can't tell if those were just engine tests etc and Iran has usually disclosed launches of actual satellites.

Wikipedia lists 5 known launches of Safir carrying a satellite (test 1 was a suborbital test and test 5 not known to carry a satellite) and 7 known test launches in total. What information do you have that there was an additional launch (/launches) and on what dates did these occur?

 

[TheImmortal]

We can't tell if those were just engine tests etc and Iran has usually disclosed launches of actual satellites.

Wikipedia lists 5 known launches of Safir carrying a satellite (test 1 was a suborbital test and test 5 not known to carry a satellite) and 7 known test launches in total. What information do you have that there was an additional launch (/launches) and on what dates did these occur?

Nobody does static engine tests on a launch pad. And it doesn’t result in a clear explosion, static engine tests are clear tail like mark.

Furthermore, they are shahab-3 engines. No reason to test them.

 

[Hack-Hook]

This says Fajr satellite (similar weight to Nahid 1) was launched into a 224km x 470km orbit

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/fajr.htm

What am I missing?

not an stable orbit that could be maintained for 2 and half year fajr was supposed to stay in orbit for 1.5 year , but stayed up only 24 day . Safir 1B was not powerful enough to put it in desired orbit . we put it on that elliptical orbit and then we tried to maneuver it in a more stable orbit , the maneuver failed and only result in a faster descent .

 

[SOHEIL]

Iran doesn’t even have an SLV that can put something at a 250KM orbit.

They are going to launch nahid with a Safir-1 which made directly by IRGC ...

 

[Websorber]

"Nahid 1 will be handed over to Iran’s defense ministry “in the upcoming days”
for a long-anticipated launch in a near future

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/08/13/603466/Iran-satellite-launch-Nahid-solar-panels

 

[mohsen]

Iran to test new solar panels on Nahid 1 satellite: Minister

Iran's minister of communications says that country’s scientists will test a new technology for operating solar panels in the space once the Nahid 1 satellite is placed into orbit.

“This satellite ... will open its rotating solar cells during its mission and stay in the space which will be regarded as a great achievement for the country,” said Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi on Tuesday, according to remarks covered in ISNA news agency.

The minister further said that Nahid 1 will be handed over to Iran’s defense ministry “in the upcoming days” for a long-anticipated launch in a near future.

He added that the spacecraft will orbit 250 kilometers above earth, adding that it could stay in the space for a maximum of two and a half years.

Azari Jahromi, who was in the central Iranian city of Saveh for a working visit, said that Nahid 1 had successfully passed its final tests and a launch date will be announced subsequently by Iranian defense officials.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/08/13/603466/Iran-satellite-launch-Nahid-solar-panels

It's 2.5 months, not years.

 

[arashkamangir]

I wish the team a great success. Space is not for the faint of heart. It is a major challenge and it is filled with failures for anyone who gets into space business.

 

[TheImmortal]

They are going to launch nahid with a Safir-1 which made directly by IRGC ...

Safir-1 is a joke. It is not powerful enough.

If you think this is the best of IRGC technology you are kidding yourself. Iran space agency likely has spies. IRGC will not supply it with needed advanced technology in order to not jeopardize its missile technology.

 

[Sineva]

Safir-1 is a joke. It is not powerful enough.

If you think this is the best of IRGC technology you are kidding yourself. Iran space agency likely has spies. IRGC will not supply it with needed advanced technology in order to not jeopardize its missile technology.

Well its not like they`ve really got a choice,rouhani gutted irans space program as a freebee to his new bffs in the west,so this only leaves the missile forces of the irgc to launch any satellites.
Theres a beautiful irony here dont you think?,I mean rouhani guts the space program over the wests [supposed] paranoia about irans missiles,yet this means that the government now has to use the militaries missiles to put up [smaller] satellites because the civilian space program and its non military slv have been trashed[LOL!].
Hopefully whoever replaces rouhani will reacativate the space program and massively expand it,ideally with a brand new far more powerful slv using either the 4d10 or better yet rd250 engnes as only these have the power to put credible payloads into geo and multi ton payloads [including manned craft] into leo.Tho this still doesnt make up for all the lost time that was squandered.

 

[TheImmortal]

Well its not like they`ve really got a choice,rouhani gutted irans space program as a freebee to his new bffs in the west,so this only leaves the missile forces of the irgc to launch any satellites.
Theres a beautiful irony here dont you think?,I mean rouhani guts the space program over the wests [supposed] paranoia about irans missiles,yet this means that the government now has to use the militaries missiles to put up [smaller] satellites because the civilian space program and its non military slv have been trashed[LOL!].
Hopefully whoever replaces rouhani will reacativate the space program and massively expand it,ideally with a brand new far more powerful slv using either the 4d10 or better yet rd250 engnes as only these have the power to put credible payloads into geo and multi ton payloads [including manned craft] into leo.Tho this still doesnt make up for all the lost time that was squandered.

The space program in Iran was always going to be supplied by IRGC and the military.

There is no civilian company in Iran that can supply missile engines to the government let alone build an SLV. There is no company with such resources.

Also being under sanctions makes it impossible for a civilian company to get needed parts to build a SLV.

If Iran wasn’t under sanctions, a civilian SLV program would merely be foreign supplied with a Iran sticker slapped on it. That’s a best case scenario, more likely would be Russia or China launching satellites for Iran.

 

[arashkamangir]

The space program in Iran was always going to be supplied by IRGC and the military.

There is no civilian company in Iran that can supply missile engines to the government let alone build an SLV. There is no company with such resources.

Also being under sanctions makes it impossible for a civilian company to get needed parts to build a SLV.

If Iran wasn’t under sanctions, a civilian SLV program would merely be foreign supplied with a Iran sticker slapped on it. That’s a best case scenario, more likely would be Russia or China launching satellites for Iran.

I think the line between civilian and military organizations is a lot blurrier.

More or less, the American space institutions are heavily influenced through military. Sure the old composition such as Northrop were private entities but they had former military in their executive ranks and they were acting like an arm of the US military. I have personally witnessed the biggest American tech company bringing on board former military commanders to act as product managers for products that have military applications and/or designed for military use. In addition, let us not forget that the origin of SLVs have been ICBMs and hence military in nature.

Arguably, Iran's space institutions follow similar pattern. There is the civilian space agency with the focus on civilian use of space just like NASA and then there is suppliers who have major ties with military. The US's military space organization is not NASA but US Air Force's Space Command and similarly Iran's military space organization is not Iranian Space Agency but IRGC Aerospace Forces. Albeit, Iran's military apparatus is unconventional and thus faces unconventional challenges when it comes to space such as sanctions against IRGC and its missile program but the threat of espionage is mutual both countries. A spy in NASA can do as much relative damage to the nation's military as a spy in Iran's Space Agency would do to Iran's military.

 

[TheImmortal]

I think the line between civilian and military organizations is a lot blurrier.

More or less, the American space institutions are heavily influenced through military. Sure the old composition such as Northrop were private entities but they had former military in their executive ranks and they were acting like an arm of the US military. I have personally witnessed the biggest American tech company bringing on board former military commanders to act as product managers for products that have military applications and/or designed for military use. In addition, let us not forget that the origin of SLVs have been ICBMs and hence military in nature.

Arguably, Iran's space institutions follow similar pattern. There is the civilian space agency with the focus on civilian use of space just like NASA and then there is suppliers who have major ties with military. The US's military space organization is not NASA but US Air Force's Space Command and similarly Iran's military space organization is not Iranian Space Agency but IRGC Aerospace Forces. Albeit, Iran's military apparatus is unconventional and thus faces unconventional challenges when it comes to space such as sanctions against IRGC and its missile program but the threat of espionage is mutual both countries. A spy in NASA can do as much relative damage to the nation's military as a spy in Iran's Space Agency would do to Iran's military.

Read what I said.

My point is there is no Boeing, Northrop Grumman, etc in Iran that supplies both military and civilian sector. And what they build for military is years ahead to what they provide for civilian (just look at the decommissioned spy satellites that are supplied to NASA by agencies as a gift. Much more advanced than what NASA builds).

The clearance level that is needed to work top secret military projects is absurdly high within those companies and that is to prevent spies.

If you look you will see an Iranian engineer was caught trying to smuggle F-35 engine designs to Iranian government from those companies. So yes spies do exist within these companies.

In case of Iran, these companies do not exist. And these SLVs are basically using iranian Missile stages minus the warhead. So if you are a spy within the civilian space agency you can learn a lot about Iran’s missiles. There is no company that will build a custom “civilian” SLV that doesn’t contain military secrets.

Its best for Iran civilian agency to contract out to IRGC to launch satellites for it.