Iran’s private sector satellites set for Russian launch
Two Iranian satellites, developed by a private sector company, have been sent to Russia on Friday for launch into orbit.
The launch of these satellites, named Kowsar and Hodhod, is considered a major milestone in the history of Iran’s space industry as it signifies the first substantial effort by the country’s private space sector, Tasnim news agency wrote.
The Kowsar satellite is designed for precision agriculture and mapping, while Hodhod is an Internet of Things (IoT) communications satellite, providing services in remote areas with limited access to terrestrial networks.
The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution remote sensing satellite, began in 2019. Hodhod, which applies advanced technologies from Kowsar, was designed and built within a year.
Kowsar is a high-resolution imaging satellite aimed at applications such as agriculture, natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and disaster management.
The head of the Iranian Space Organization says Tolou-3 and Zafar-2 satellites will be put into space via a foreign launcher by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (ends March 20, 2025).
Earlier in September, the head of the Iranian Space Agency Hassan Salarieh announced that at least five satellites would be sent into space by the end of the current Iranian year, Mehr news agency reported.
The homegrown Kosar satellite would blast off this year, Salarieh added, underlining that this satellite was built by the private sector.