Iran has successfully launched its homegrown Saman-1 satellite into orbit using the Simorgh satellite launch vehicle, Iranian media reported on Friday.
The Saman-1 orbital unit, carrying two payloads, was launched by a Simorgh rocket from the Imam Khomeini Space Launch Terminal and successfully entered an elliptical orbit with its closest point to Earth at 452.7 miles and its farthest point at 186.4 miles, the Tasnim news agency said.
The Simorgh launch vehicle, which runs on liquid fuel, was developed by the Iranian Defense Ministry. This was its eighth launch. A new record was set for Iran with the successful launch into orbit of a payload totaling over 600 pounds, the report said.
In early November, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1b rocket put into orbit a Fregat upper stage carrying 53 small satellites, including two Iranian ones, Kowsar and Hodhod.
In April, the head of the Iranian Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh, said that Tehran planned to complete the creation of the second prototype of the Pars-1 satellite and prepare the Nahid-2 and Saman-1 for launch between March 20, 2024, and March 20, 2025.
