Iranian Space Program (ISA) Thread

[SunlitZelkova]

I noticed we don’t have a thread for the Iranian space program. I thought I would make one because of this interesting news.

https://x.com/fab_hinz/status/1732356833161945249?s=46&t=Jd73T2beq0JLNtwTy1uR5A

They launched a 500 kilogram “bio capsule” into space on a Scud derived launcher.

Iran wants to send a man into space as the end goal of this project.

This project began in 2010 with the launch of numerous live animals. This capsule mock-up was also displayed some time early in the decade. The program basically came to a halt in 2013 due to lack of funds and the lack of interest in space from the new President. But then the government changed in 2021. Now the space program has been reportedly reinvigorated. Iranian officials have claimed they will launch a man into space by 2029.

Some Western observers have ridiculed it, but the Tweet thread above states the author’s belief that when looked at without any “Iranian lense” the trajectory of the program isn’t that far off from any other space project, and therefore is not to be belittled.

It should be noted China also showed off mock-ups of crewed spacecraft in 1980. It took them 25 years to actually put a man into space, but they did it.

Now for a little background on Iran’s space activities. Their first orbital launch was in 2009, but for years their satellites were plagued by some issue that caused the satellites to decay after 1-2 months. It wouldn’t be until 2020 that a satellite stayed in orbit for an entire year. Since then, Iran has launched another satellite, in September 2023. Both these successful satellites were developed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Meanwhile, the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) built its own satellite, but it was launched on a Soyuz from Baikonur in August 2022. It continues to operate well as well. All three satellites are imagery reconnaissance satellites. The IRGC ones have very low resolutions of as much as 400 meters, while the details of the ISA one are classified, but it is claimed to have “high resolution”. It should be noted the ISA satellite was designed with help from Russia.

My thinking on it is this: if the 1950s impoverished Soviet Union could launch a man into space, it’s not that far fetched for Iran, with economic support from Russia and China, to do so either.

I hope they can pull it off. It’d be quite something to see a smaller (compared to the main crewed space superpowers) pull off an indigenous crewed space launch capability, even if it was only on par with Vostok or Mercury flights.