Iran Sends Trio of Homegrown Satellites to Orbit Aboard Russian Soyuz Rocket

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has successfully placed three domestically developed remote-sensing satellites into orbit using a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, continuing its cooperation with Moscow in space missions.

The launch took place Sunday from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome at 16:48 Tehran time as part of a multi-payload mission. This marks the seventh occasion on which Iran has relied on Russian rockets to deploy satellites.

The payload included the Zafar 2, Paya [also known as Tolou 3] and Kowsar satellites. According to Iran Space Agency head Hassan Salarieh, the mission reflects the rapid expansion of Iran’s space sector and the growing involvement of universities, government bodies, and private companies.

He said Iran remains among roughly a dozen countries with comprehensive space capabilities, including satellite design, launch systems, and ground control infrastructure.

Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, described the launch as a significant milestone, stressing that all three satellites were fully designed and built inside Iran using indigenous technology.

While the manufacturing and development phases were completed domestically, the launch itself was carried out in partnership with Russia. Two of the satellites are government-owned, while one belongs to the private sector.

Paya, weighing about 150 kilograms, is Iran’s largest satellite so far and can capture black-and-white images at roughly five-meter resolution and color images at about 10 meters. Zafar 2, developed by the Iran University of Science and Technology, is intended for environmental monitoring, natural resource management, disaster response, and mapping. Kowsar 1.5, an upgraded model based on earlier Kowsar and Hodhod satellites, features Internet of Things capabilities that allow real-time data transmission for smart monitoring applications.

Iran began its space activities in 2009 with the launch of the Omid satellite and has continued to advance its civilian space program despite long-standing Western sanctions.