Iranian Space program

[skyshadow]

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

In a now typical pattern of the Iranian authorities, news released about a loosely related GEO remote sensing satellite project, indicates that the Safir-2-e-Zafar rocket might have entered the final preparation stage and that a launch is to be expected in the coming couple of days if not hours!

Putting 'sensing satellite' into orbit of 36,000 kms on agenda

Sep 14, 2019, 5:34 PM

Khorramabad, Sept 14, IRNA - The head of Iran's Space Agency Morteza Barari said on Saturday that the launch of a sensing satellite in the orbit of 36,000 kilometers is on the agenda and three Iranian satellites will be ready to carry out the mission.

Morteza Barari met with faculty and top startups in the province of Lorestan province on Saturday, and noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has reached a full cycle of space technology with the efforts of its youth, despite 40 years of sanctions.
...

http://web.archive.org/web/20190914...-satellite-into-orbit-of-36-000-kms-on-agenda
http://archive.is/Zbfff
​

Iran's First Altitude Rocket Propulsion Test Facility

Iran Tests First Sample of Home-Made Space Engine

Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:38

TEHRAN (FNA)- President of Iran's Space Research Center Hossein Samimi announced that the first sample of indigenized space engine was tested successfully.

"The new achievement of the Center includes the designing of the class of Arash space engines and the first sample of this space engine was tested successfully last month," Samimi told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

He added that the engine should have been tested in vacuum, adding that the Iranian experts simulated a vacuum-like space for the test.

"The first sample of this engine has been tested and another test is due to take place soon," Samimi said.

http://web.archive.org/web/20191219101427/https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980926000847
http://archive.ph/fhN85

​

Safir-2's Third Stage: Saman 1 Upper Stage

Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:59

Saman 1 space tug which has been manufactured for the first time in the country is used to transfer the satellites from Low Earth orbit (LEO) to higher orbits.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113000454
​

Spoiler

http://img8.irna.ir/1395/13951113/82411486/82411486-71374846.jpg
http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82411486/

▲ 01/02/2017 -- The Interorbital System named ‘Saman 1’ was unveiled in a ceremony marking the ninth national space technology day in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani here on Wednesday.

Spoiler

http://img8.irna.ir/1395/13951113/3399726/3399726-5637973.jpg
http://www.irna.ir/en/Photo/3399726/

▲ 01/02/2017 -- The Interorbital System named ‘Saman 1’ was unveiled in a ceremony marking the ninth national space technology day in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani here on Wednesday.

Spoiler

http://img8.irna.ir/1395/13951113/3399726/3399726-5637954.jpg
http://www.irna.ir/en/Photo/3399726/

▲ 01/02/2017 -- The Interorbital System named ‘Saman 1’ was unveiled in a ceremony marking the ninth national space technology day in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani here on Wednesday.

Spoiler

http://img8.irna.ir/1395/13951113/3399726/3399726-5637955.jpg
http://www.irna.ir/en/Photo/3399726/

▲ 01/02/2017 -- The Interorbital System named ‘Saman 1’ was unveiled in a ceremony marking the ninth national space technology day in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani here on Wednesday.



ISRC's Arash-22 solid propellant motor

The ISRC exhibited a new solid propellant motor showing differences with the previous Saman-1, notably in diameter (~ 10 cm smaller), and also the carbon fiber tanks for the cold gas are no longer spherical but more oblong.

Tue Feb 21, 2017

Iranian Space Research Institute on the occasion of the Sixteenth International Conference on Aerospace, disclosed in an exhibition, a new Arash-22 solid fuel motor for upper stage.

http://isrc.ac.ir/index.php/news/1391-08-29-22-39-13/2249-1395-12-03-12-49-56.html

Spoiler

http://gallery.military.ir/albums/userpics/10314/1_28629~4.jpg
http://www.military.ir/forums/topic/22141-مسیر-توسعه-فناوری‌های-فضایی-در-کشور-ما-چگونه-خو/page-28

▲ The new upper stage.

Spoiler

http://
http://www.military.ir/forums/topic/22141-مسیر-توسعه-فناوری‌های-فضایی-در-کشور-ما-چگونه-خو/page-28

▲ SUS-M Upper Stage for comparison.

Spoiler

http://gallery.military.ir/albums/userpics/10314/3_28229~1.jpg
http://isrc.ac.ir/images/stories/events_space/1395/12/03.12.1395-isrc-001.jpg
http://isrc.ac.ir/index.php/news/1391-08-29-22-39-13/2249-1395-12-03-12-49-56.html

▲ Arash-22 solid fuel propellant main motor and carbon fiber tank for the cold gas vernier thrusters.

North Korean version of ISRC's Arash-22 solid propellant motor!

Spoiler

http://www.jajusibo.com/imgdata/jajuilbo_com/201708/2017082853306379.jpg
http://jajusibo.com/sub_read.html?uid=35359&section=sc38&section2=

▲ Kim Jong Un giving on the spot field guidance at the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defense Science on 22 August 2017.
The gray spherical object, like a basketball ball, is a casing for solid propellant of a ICBM third stage (Pukguksong-4?)
Next to it is a black and brown open truncated conical object, it is a new type of rocket engine nozzle developed by the institute.

Spoiler

http://www.jajusibo.com/imgdata/jajuilbo_com/201708/2017082856538712.jpg
http://jajusibo.com/sub_read.html?uid=35359&section=sc38&section2=

▲ Kim Jong Un giving on the spot field guidance at the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defense Science on 22 August 2017.
The enlarged photo below shows the product developed by the institute.
While zooming in on this photo, the focus is blurred and you can not identify the letter, other magnified pictures can identify the words "warhead tip" and "third stage spherical engine". In this photo, the right side of the warhead tip shows a spherical casing connected on top of a rocket engine nozzle.
A small solid propellant rocket engine mounted on the third stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/iranian-space-program.291303/page-77#post-9817974

Altitude Rocket Propulsion Test Facilities also called Vacuum Test Stands allow sea level static test of an upper stage.

As we know that for the upper stages of the rocket, we need high propulsion efficiency thereby high specific impulse. For that we employ a nozzle with higher expansion ratios.

Now, if we conduct the static tests of such nozzles at sea-level, it will result into an over-expanded plume.


One needs a massive facility that can maintain a near vacuum while dealing with the engine exhaust. There are (were) only a couple in the U.S.:


• Plum Brook Station (Part of NASA Glenn) includes the In-Space Propulsion Facility

http://archive.ph/9vjIO/0d6151582aea42eb96c65fde810f724142342a48.jpg ; https://archive.ph/9vjIO/4473b55e29a063204b19865552935f6c9e0ea3f0/scr.png ; http://web.archive.org/web/20190729115046/https://i.stack.imgur.com/BbHov.jpg ; https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20180005322.pdf ; http://web.archive.org/web/20191222...-level-static-test-of-an-upper-stage-possible ; http://archive.ph/iqitY
▲ 1. U.S.' high altitude rocket propulsion test facility

• Arnold Engineering Development Center (run by the DOD) includes the J-6 Large Rocket Motor Test Facility
• The never-used A-3 altitude test stand at Stennis, completed to the tune of over $350 million,

These facilities typically use steam ejector systems to keep the test cell pumped down in the presence of huge amounts of exhaust entering it.

Note: these facilities typically don't claim to produce pure vacuum conditions. Commonly they advertise 100,000 ft (~30 km) altitude conditions (~ 0.2 psi or ~ 0.0014 MPa)

http://web.archive.org/web/20191222...-level-static-test-of-an-upper-stage-possible
http://archive.ph/iqitY

This means that although the Arash upper stage is not new, Iran has just made another major breakthrough, with its own indigenous Vacuum Test Stand, a milestone mastered only by a few space powers!

By unlocking ground testing of upper stage techologies, Iran will soon be able to send its first ever satellite in a geostationary orbit!

 

[Messerschmitt]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1217839264202969089

^ Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi indicating the possibly imminent launch of the satellite Zafar

 

[skyshadow]

 

[Arminkh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1217839264202969089

^ Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi indicating the possibly imminent launch of the satellite Zafar

Say what you like about this guy. But he definitely knows how to handle PR.

 

[TruthHurtz]

Hopefully they've ironed out the kinks with this rocket.

 

[skyshadow]

really really big big news for Iran missile power with the new Arash space engines which until last year (2019) only was built by US alone but now Iran ( by successfully testing its first Arash engine in 2019 ) is the second power to build that kind of engines.



Iran achieves knowledge of building space engines: ISRC head

He said the new achievement includes the design and development of various versions of “Arash space engine” the first sample of which was tested successfully late 2019.


“Arash space engine will be put in the orbital transfer system to help thrust satellites from the low orbit into the high orbit.”



https://en.mehrnews.com/news/154663/Iran-achieves-knowledge-of-building-space-engines-ISRC-head

 

[GWXP]

Is it a small engine or a big SLV engine?

 

[skyshadow]

Is it a small engine or a big SLV engine?

it dose not say

 

[Ich]

Isnt it to big for a Sat? If the thinest cables in that pic are only 1 cm thick, then the complete Engine is bigger than 3 meter.

Edit:

Hmm, but sure larger than 2 meters!

 

[PeeD]

They talk about vacuum optimized small upper stage engines. In best case cryogenic, but given Iran's low publicised skills in developing indigenous liquid engines, that's rather unlikely.
However a vacuum testing stand on it's own is already a impressive job.

 

[Draco.IMF]

Iran says will soon launch Zafar satellites into orbit
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/01/19/616563/Iran-Mohammad-Javad-Azari-Jahromi-zAfar-satellite

Fingers crossed it will be an success this time, the space programm is now under the ministry of defence...

 

[Philosopher]

the space programm is now under the ministry of defence...

Do you have a source for this claim?

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Zafar 1, 2 satellites ready for launch

19 January 2020 - 10:34

TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (MNA) – Iran's Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi says the Zafar 1 and 2 satellites, have been delivered to Iran Space Agency and will be put into orbit in the near future.

He described the developments of these satellites and their launchers as a great step in the country’s space program, saying, “Two versions of Zafar have been built by young Iranian scientists, both of which are technologically superior to those we had built before.”

Zafar, designed by Iran University of Science and Technology, is a 90-kilogram remote-sensing satellite equipped with color cameras and can be used for surveying oil reserves, mines, jungles and natural disasters. If the launch is successful, it will orbit the earth at an altitude of 530 kilometers.


https://en.mehrnews.com/news/154696/Zafar-1-2-satellites-ready-for-launch-Telecoms-minister
http://archive.is/69WT3
​

Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:49

Satellite Zafar, built by Iranian universities' elites and scientists, will be delivered to the spaceport today and the process to launch it into the orbit will start immediately, Barari told FNA on Sunday.

https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13981029000204
http://archive.ph/wbPaH
​

http://archive.ph/2O3Ay/40591dd0b02668040a28e0ac830dcd51ce1e0294.jpg ; https://archive.ph/2O3Ay/fd6073c211df7a4205de3a92269f0bac22009477/scr.png ; https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOa_fRYW4AA4ahW.jpg ; https://twitter.com/barari_ir/status/1217871305455869954
▲ 1. Zafar satellite specifications

http://archive.ph/nnyJ4/40b380e3dad7a473c6749c62dcd1d333946db946.jpg ; https://archive.ph/nnyJ4/5e4b0d09783427f30c87b32d80bd8ac26dd7c76d/scr.png ; https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOof_J9U4AAYLvL.jpg ; https://twitter.com/barari_ir/status/1218821892909363204
▲ 2. Zafar Satellite 1 and 2 from the University of Science and Technology.

http://archive.ph/CIKP7/88b188d73caef20cf1b3c29a968ca7daeeba8442.jpg ; https://archive.ph/CIKP7/c788b6e44c6658282ffc9a39f4371cc7bbecce38/scr.png ; https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOogATJU4AA31gH.jpg ; https://twitter.com/barari_ir/status/1218821892909363204
▲ 3. Zafar Satellite 1 and 2 from the University of Science and Technology.

http://archive.ph/XSH8l/8e240ad61b18e5ccfbcfd31284fa4fadd5ef7a72.jpg ; https://archive.ph/XSH8l/d98e772171467cd75523ca2be59a22bf57b89181/scr.png ; https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOogCguU8AESdDv.jpg ; https://twitter.com/barari_ir/status/1218821892909363204
▲ 4. Zafar Satellite 1 and 2 from the University of Science and Technology.

http://archive.ph/PnaL4/c7f98aae6a0e826aa56196d54b8a38dc1a5b03bf.jpg ; https://archive.ph/PnaL4/1bc7b577b47659f3ebb1b38acafe53560fc71d4c/scr.png ; https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOo5pIvXkAAqsOd.jpg ; https://twitter.com/barari_ir/status/1218850042867585025
▲ 5. The Zafar satellite command and control station


From the Mission Control screen, seemingly a polar orbit. 530 km circular SSO is consistent with any remote-sensing satellite.

 

[yavar]