Kavoshgar-1
Encyclopedia
The Safir is the name of the first Iran
ian expendable launch vehicle that is able to place a satellite in orbit. The first successful orbital launch using the Safir launch system took place 2 February 2009 when a Safir 2 carrier rocket placed the Omid
satellite into an orbit with a 245.2 km (152.4 mi) apogee.
A sub-orbital test flight, named Kavoshgar-1 , was conducted on 4 February 2008, as announced by state-run television. A launch on 25 February 2007, may also have been of the same type. The first flights carried instruments to measure the higher atmosphere
. The rocket launched on 4 February 2008 was a liquid-propellant-driven rocket, probably a derivative of the Shahab-3
, that reached an altitude of 200–250 km in space
, and successfully returned science data according to the Iranian News Agency.
On 19 February 2008, Iran offered new information about the rocket and announced that Kavoshgar-1 used a two staged rocket. The first stage separated after 100 seconds and returned to earth with the help of a parachute. The second stage continued its ascent to the altitude of 200 kilometres. However it was not intended to reach orbital velocity.
Earlier reports by the Iranian News Agency suggested that Kavoshgar-1 used a three staged rocket with the first stage separating after 90 seconds and the rocket reaching an orbit between 200 and 250 kilometres.
The successful development and launch of a sounding-space-rocket
was already announced a year earlier, on 25 February 2007. It is unknown if the sounding rocket
launched on 25 February 2007, and the rocket launched on 4 February 2008, are of the same type.
Iran announced plans to send two more rockets into space during 2008 and four more satellites before the end of 2010.
As it was announced by Iran, a dummy satellite was put into a 650 km LEO
passing over Iran six times every 24 hours.
The two-staged launch vehicle named SAFIR-2 was 22 m long with a diameter of 1.25 m, weighing about 26 tonnes. The 27 kg Omid satellite was launched into an orbit with a 245.5 km perigee
and 381.2 km apogee. The evidence is mounting that Safir-2 was more powerful and advanced than initially thought.
On the maiden flight of the Safir-B rocket, designated Safir-B1, from a launch site in Semnan Province, Iran Iran's third indigenous satellite Rasad 1
was launched. The launch occurred at approximately 09:14 UTC on 15 June 2011 with the spacecraft reaching orbit several minutes later.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian expendable launch vehicle that is able to place a satellite in orbit. The first successful orbital launch using the Safir launch system took place 2 February 2009 when a Safir 2 carrier rocket placed the Omid
Omid
Omid is a common Persian male given name, meaning hope...
satellite into an orbit with a 245.2 km (152.4 mi) apogee.
A sub-orbital test flight, named Kavoshgar-1 , was conducted on 4 February 2008, as announced by state-run television. A launch on 25 February 2007, may also have been of the same type. The first flights carried instruments to measure the higher atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
. The rocket launched on 4 February 2008 was a liquid-propellant-driven rocket, probably a derivative of the Shahab-3
Shahab-3
The Shahab-3 is a medium-range ballistic missile developed by Iran and based on the Nodong-1. The Shahab-3 has a range of ; a MRBM variant can now reach...
, that reached an altitude of 200–250 km in space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
, and successfully returned science data according to the Iranian News Agency.
On 19 February 2008, Iran offered new information about the rocket and announced that Kavoshgar-1 used a two staged rocket. The first stage separated after 100 seconds and returned to earth with the help of a parachute. The second stage continued its ascent to the altitude of 200 kilometres. However it was not intended to reach orbital velocity.
Earlier reports by the Iranian News Agency suggested that Kavoshgar-1 used a three staged rocket with the first stage separating after 90 seconds and the rocket reaching an orbit between 200 and 250 kilometres.
The successful development and launch of a sounding-space-rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
was already announced a year earlier, on 25 February 2007. It is unknown if the sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
launched on 25 February 2007, and the rocket launched on 4 February 2008, are of the same type.
Iran announced plans to send two more rockets into space during 2008 and four more satellites before the end of 2010.
Safir-1
On 17 August 2008, Iranian officials reported that a Safir was launched successfully without a payload, in preparation for the launch of Iran's first indigenously launched satellite, Omid. Reza Taghizadeh, head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization, told state television "The Safir (Ambassador) satellite carrier was launched today and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit".As it was announced by Iran, a dummy satellite was put into a 650 km LEO
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
passing over Iran six times every 24 hours.
Alleged failure
According to an American official, "The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position." However, the video of the liftoff of the rocket was shown on the Iranian state television for several minutes. Iranian officials released a statement denouncing the allegations as propaganda and stated that Iran would soon launch the Omid satellite. Iran indeed launched the satellite on 2 February 2009, less than six months later.Safir-2
On 2 February 2009, a Safir rocket conducted Iran's first orbital launch, with the Omid satellite.The two-staged launch vehicle named SAFIR-2 was 22 m long with a diameter of 1.25 m, weighing about 26 tonnes. The 27 kg Omid satellite was launched into an orbit with a 245.5 km perigee
Perigee
Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
and 381.2 km apogee. The evidence is mounting that Safir-2 was more powerful and advanced than initially thought.
Safir-2 Block-II
Iran has begun the development of the planned Block-II Safir booster intended to double its payload capacity with the intent to make it operational by some time in 2010. The launch vehicle is to acquire its increased payload capacity into low earth orbit through the addition of two Samen, solid motor strap-on boosters added to the Shahab-3C derived first stage and possible a new solid motor third stage added to the existing two stage Safir space booster. The announcement of the development start on this booster was made on 14 April 2009 by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This booster is capable of placing satellite in 700 kilometres (435 mi) orbits or doubling its payload capacity.Iran is known to be combining these liquid propellant and solid motor technologies to the development of a more capable Safir block-II class space booster expected in 2010 with over twice the capability of the present Safir space booster. Iran is known to be working on a new, nearly all solid propellant boosters with a payload capacity of 330 kilograms to low earth orbit.On the maiden flight of the Safir-B rocket, designated Safir-B1, from a launch site in Semnan Province, Iran Iran's third indigenous satellite Rasad 1
Rasad 1
Rasad-1 was an Iranian satellite which was launched in 2011. The third Iranian satellite, and the second to be launched successfully using an indigenous rocket, Rasad-1 was Iran's first imaging satellite. Launched aboard a Safir-B carrier rocket, it was successfully placed into a low Earth orbit...
was launched. The launch occurred at approximately 09:14 UTC on 15 June 2011 with the spacecraft reaching orbit several minutes later.
See also
- International rankings of Iran in Science and Technology
- Simorgh (rocket)Simorgh (rocket)Simorgh is an Iranian expendable small-capacity orbital carrier rocket, which was scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2010. It was unveiled by Iraninan President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 3 February 2010, as part of celebrations of the first anniversary of the launch of Omid, the first...
- Sina-1
- OmidOmidOmid is a common Persian male given name, meaning hope...
- Rasad 1Rasad 1Rasad-1 was an Iranian satellite which was launched in 2011. The third Iranian satellite, and the second to be launched successfully using an indigenous rocket, Rasad-1 was Iran's first imaging satellite. Launched aboard a Safir-B carrier rocket, it was successfully placed into a low Earth orbit...
- Iranian Space AgencyIranian Space AgencyThe Iranian Space Agency is Iran's governmental space agency. Iran is an active participant in the Asian space race and became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009...
- List of orbits
- Iran's missile forces
- Shahab-1
- Shahab-2Shahab-2The Shahab-2 is the successor to the Iranian Shahab-1 missile.The missile has a CEP of 50 m. On November 2, 2006, Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of military simulations. Iranian state television reported "dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles...
- Shahab-3Shahab-3The Shahab-3 is a medium-range ballistic missile developed by Iran and based on the Nodong-1. The Shahab-3 has a range of ; a MRBM variant can now reach...
- Shahab-4Shahab-4The Shahab-4 aka IRIS liquid propelled missile is an alleged, and possibly fictional, programme for Iran's first missile to bring satellites into orbit....
- Asian space raceAsian space raceSeveral Asian countries have national space programs, and they are considered to be competing with each other to achieve scientific and technological advancements in space. The media has occasionally called this competition the Asian space race. The exploration of Outer space is of strategic...
- Comparison of small lift launch systems
External links
- Iran's Research Rocket Beams Back Science Data, Space.com
- Iran Launches Rocket, Unveils Space Center, Space.com
- Iran's Sputnik, SpaceRef.com
- Iran rocket claim raises tension, BBC
- Iran: Rocket Launch Another Show Of Prowess, RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty
- Iran claims space rocket launch, AlJazeera
- Iranians inaugurate space project, BBC
- Iran to Launch 2 More Research Rockets Before Placing Satellite into Orbit This Summer, on Space.comSpace.comSpace.com is a space and astronomy news website. Its stories are often syndicated to other media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo!, and USA Today.Space.com was founded by former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs and Rich Zahradnik, in July 1999...
- Iran Launches Indigenous Carrier Rocket