Russian rocket takes Iranian satellites into orbit as ties grow closer

The Iranian-made satellites, Kowsar and Hodhod, were successfully placed into orbit by a Russian Soyuz-2.1 spacecraft.

A Russian rocket carrying a payload of satellites into orbit – including 2 from Iran – blasted disconnected successfully, Russia’s Roscosmos abstraction bureau said, successful a determination seen arsenic reflecting the growing cooperation betwixt Moscow and Tehran.

The Soyuz-2.1 spacecraft lifted disconnected arsenic scheduled from the Vostochny Cosmodrome launchpad successful acold eastbound Russia and enactment its payload into a designated orbit 9 minutes aft the motorboat connected Tuesday.

Roscosmos said that 2 Russian Ionosfera-M satellites – designed to show the abstraction upwind astir Earth – and 53 tiny satellites, including 2 from Iran, were placed into orbit successfully.

Among the 53 tiny satellites, the two Iranian satellites were identified arsenic the Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a tiny communications satellite. A Russian-Chinese pupil satellite, Druzhba ATURK, was besides placed into orbit.

The Iranian satellites are the archetypal launched connected behalf of the country’s backstage sector, with the Kowsar manufactured by the Omidfaza company, which began designing the outer successful 2019, Iran’s authoritative IRNA quality bureau reported.

The Kowsar has an expected lifespan of 3 years and the Hodhod should run for 4 years, according to the IRNA.

Iran’s Kowsar, Hodhod satellites successfully launchedhttps://t.co/O7635DwpTy pic.twitter.com/OQki7GrrUD

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) November 5, 2024

In 2022, a Russian rocket launched an Iranian Earth reflection outer called Khayyam, which was built successful Russia astatine Tehran’s request. Russia enactment different Iranian outer named Pars-1 into orbit successful February.

The Pars-1 is simply a probe outer that volition scan Iran’s topography from orbit, Iran’s authorities media reported astatine the time.

The latest outer motorboat comes arsenic Russia and Iran grow ties successful assorted spheres, and amid mounting disapproval from Ukraine and the West that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones for usage successful attacks connected Ukrainian targets.

Moscow and Tehran are besides readying to further bolster their ties with a “comprehensive strategical partnership”, acceptable to beryllium signed during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s planned sojourn to Russia, the day for which has yet to beryllium confirmed.

Russia’s outer launches travel a bid of failed launches suffered by Iran’s civilian abstraction programme successful caller years, including 5 failed launches successful a enactment for the Simorgh programme, a satellite-carrying rocket.

A abstracted Iranian abstraction programme tally by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps has seen palmy launches from a subject basal extracurricular of Shahroud, located eastbound of the capital, Tehran.

Satellite images analysed by The Associated Press amusement that Israel whitethorn person bombed the tract during its October 26 onslaught connected Iran.

Iran said astatine the clip that the Israeli onslaught had caused minimal damage.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies