TheImmortal
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2017
- Messages
- 7,091
- Reaction score
- -12
- Country
- Location
So far Qaem-100 didn't put anything in orbit. And I don't think Qaem-105 is "weak". 200kg payload to LEO in a mobile and compact (and very advanced) design is a very important SLV for Iran
200kg (max load) is weak. I don’t think you realize that. Israeli governments SLV does up to 800kg and that is while firing into a retrograde orbit which leads to weak payload! They cannot do a traditional East launch due to location of hostile countries.
No doubt ISA's program has been a failure after a promising first few years (9th country to independently place satellite into orbit, sent monkeys to space and recovered them alive, 4/6 launch success rate for Safir SLV, but all downhill since then).
Some of the monkey(s) died actually. It was irresponsible and propaganda at its finest. With questionable scientific value. The SLVs at the time were nothing more than 1960’s tech slapped together to fly to space.
IRGC program is not a failure:
2020: First launch of Qased SLV (25-40kg to LEO, 3/3 orbital launch success rate so far)
2023/24 (TBC): First successful orbital launch of Qaem-100 (80kg to LEO, 0/1 orbital launch success rate so far)
2024/25 (TBC): First successful orbital launch of Qaem-105 (200kg to LEO)
It is a failure given the entity in question and how they could have done this years ago. Who do you think assists the ISA? The IRGC. You think a public entity in Iran has ability to make the rockets? No they are delivered by IRGC affiliated companies.Many IRGC engineers assist with the launches, just look at the two that died recently in the space center. Both IRGC engineers.
The IRGC has their fair share of blame for the ISA failures. They built Simorgh knowing 2nd stage was weak and due to ISA not launching we sat on a 2009 era design for years before finally moving away from it.
Qaem-105 - they should both reach 200kg payload to LEO capability around c. 2024-2026.
Like I said a joke. Compare that to Rocketlab’s Neutron rocket that will be ready at the same time which can carry 13,000kg to LEO. Rocketlab’s current tiny rocket does 300kg to LEO with 41 launches and their first public mission in 2017. Compare that to ISA starting in 2008 and still doesn’t have a successful SLV that can do 300kg to LEO.
Rocketlab is a smaller publicly traded space company (non government backed). I won’t even compare Iran’s programs to the private giants like Boeing/UAL or even SpaceX.
So anyway you try spin this, neither program is “impressive”. Neither is launching 100-200kg to LEO. Problem is it seems as Iranians we have lowered the bar after a series of impressive advancements by Iran’s military and civilian sectors. But past innovation shouldn’t lead to complacency or accepting lower accomplishments in the future.
A great real world example of this is Apple. Amazing innovator in the past and now just does the bare minimum and gets praised for it.
Outside of Iran’s airforce, Iran’s space program is the next biggest disappointment in last 15 years.