US, Israel and moderate neighbours view Tehran’s growing space sector with concern

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US, Israel and moderate neighbours view Tehran’s growing space sector with concern
  1. More satellites for the remainder of the year
  2. Concerns about technology transfers to the military field

Iran has once again raised the alarm of Israeli and US intelligence services and spy satellites by putting a new domestically manufactured satellite into orbit, about which very little is known. 

Tehran has decided to do so at a time of particular political and military tension with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, when the bloody fighting on the ground and from the air ravaging the people of the Gaza Strip continues unabated, and rocket and missile attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis on Israeli territory continue.

This is the first space launch since the inauguration of the Islamic Republic’s new president, 69-year-old cardiologist Masoud Pezeshkian, who on 30 July took over from his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, who suffered a fatal accident on 19 May when the military helicopter in which he was travelling plunged to earth. 

El Gobierno israelí de Benjamín Netanyahu sigue con preocupación los avances en materia espacial de Irán, de manera especial sus progresos en cohetes, que pueden derivar en más potentes misiles balísticos - PHOTO/Israel Prime Minister Office
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is following with concern Iran’s space developments, especially its progress on rockets, which may lead to more powerful ballistic missiles – PHOTO/Israel Prime Minister Office

The satellite, named Chamran-1 and weighing just under 60 kilos at liftoff, was positioned at an altitude of 550 kilometres on Saturday morning, 14 September, using a domestically produced Qaem-100 three-stage solid-propellant launcher, also derived from a ballistic missile. According to the official IRNA news agency, Chamran-1 was ‘designed and built by the Iranian Electronics Industries Space Group (SAIran) in collaboration with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force’.  

The launch took place from the Shahroud missile base, a firing range under the control of the Revolutionary Islamic Guard commanded by General Hussein Salami, 64. The complex is located in northeastern Iranian territory and the firing was directed by the Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force, an organisation under the command of General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, 62. 

Desde que asumió la presidencia del país en 2021, el presidente Ebrahim Raisi dio un gran impulso al desarrollo y mejora de lanzadores y satélites. Pero falleció en accidente de helicóptero en julio pasado - PHOTO/Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán
Since assuming the country’s presidency in 2021, President Ebrahim Raisi has made a major push to develop and improve launchers and satellites. But he died in a helicopter crash last July – PHOTO/Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán

More satellites for the remainder of the year

The newly launched platform has been described by official Iranian sources as ‘research’. They claim that its purpose is to ‘test the various subsystems and equipment on board the satellite, as well as to verify the reliability of its domestically produced propulsion system’. SAIran director Amir Rastegari confirmed that Chamran-1 ‘is stabilised in orbit and is moving along the planned trajectory’. 

The firing of Qaem-100 with Chamran-1 is the second successful firing of the rocket so far this year. On 20 January, the Aerospace Force launched Suraya, weighing about 47 kilos, also of national manufacture, which was also described as ‘research’ although it appears to be a communications rocket. It was positioned at 750 kilometres, an altitude never before reached by a Persian spacecraft. 

But there are more Iranian spacecraft on the waiting list. The head of the Iranian Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh, announced on 22 August that ‘14 different domestically manufactured satellites are ready for launch’. He added that ‘another 30 are in the process of development, of which about 20 are projects in collaboration with the nation’s private sector’. 

El cohete Qaem-100 de Irán ha logrado posicionar un satélite de menos de 100 kilos a 750 kilómetros de altura, todo un logro para la industria espacial del país - PHOTO/Irán Space Agency
Iran’s Qaem-100 rocket has successfully positioned a satellite weighing less than 100 kilos at an altitude of 750 kilometres, an achievement for the country’s space industry – PHOTO/Irán Space Agency

Hassan Salarieh revealed that ‘two spacecraft are scheduled for launch this year. One is the earth observation satellite named Kowsar, which he said will be used ‘for agricultural, mapping and border control purposes’. He pointed out that it has been developed to obtain an image resolution of ‘3.5 metres per pixel’ during its lifetime, which he estimates to be ‘about two years’, which assumes that it will be placed in a very low orbit.  

The second satellite that is almost ready is called Hodhod, and its raison d’être is to ‘test Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the fields of agriculture, transport and crisis management situations’. But beware of Tehran’s official announcements, which in sensitive space matters are a source of misinformation, as both are also likely to be used for defence and security purposes. 

El general Hussein Salami (izquierda, sin gorra) es el jefe de la Guardia Islámica Revolucionaria, uno de cuyos brazos es la Fuerza Aeroespacial que controla los lanzamientos de cohetes y satélites - PHOTO/Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán
General Hussein Salami (left, without cap) is the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, one arm of which is the Aerospace Force that controls rocket and satellite launches – PHOTO/Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán

Concerns about technology transfers to the military field

The Iranian space sector has experienced a major qualitative leap in recent years, the continuity of which has yet to be confirmed by the new President Pezeshkian. In Hassan Salarieh’s opinion, once the capacity to launch and place satellites in orbits of up to 750 kilometres altitude has been achieved, ‘in the coming years we must accelerate the growth of our space industry’. What Salarieh did not say is that this acceleration is closely related to the technological assistance provided by Russia as well as China and North Korea.  

Tehran’s political authorities see outer space as a sector with very broad geostrategic implications, which favours cooperation with its allies and integrates national efforts on both the civilian and military sides. The concern of its more moderate neighbours and the United States and Israel is the improvements in its rockets to position satellites in orbit, such as the Qaem-100, which, according to Washington, would ‘shorten the timeframe for developing an intercontinental ballistic missile’, which Iran lacks.

La amplia gama de satélites espía de Estados Unidos vigilan los lanzamientos de cohetes de Irán y siguen de cerca los movimientos de sus diferentes satélites en órbita, de los que muy poco se conoce - PHOTO/L3 Harris
The wide range of US spy satellites monitor Iran’s rocket launches and closely track the movements of its various satellites in orbit, of which little is known – PHOTO/L3 Harris

It is no coincidence that the Iranian Space Agency has now been in existence for 20 years. Approved by the Tehran Parliament on 10 December 2003, it was established on 28 February 2004. Attached to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, its ten-year space programme aims to make Iran a regional leader in space technology and launch services. 

The Supreme Space Council, a body headed by the Iranian president, exercises control and issues working guidelines for the Agency, whose purpose is to ‘promote, direct and supervise activities related to the peaceful use of space science and technology in Iran’. The Ministry of Defence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard are represented on the Council, which oversees the nation’s military and security interests.

El nuevo presidente, Masoud Pezeshkian, todavía no ha hecho declaración de intenciones sobre el sector espacial nacional. En imagen, recibiendo el nombramiento de presidente de manos del ayatolá Jamenei - PHOTO/ Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán
The new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has yet to make a statement of intent regarding the country’s space sector. He is pictured receiving his appointment as president from Ayatollah Khamenei – PHOTO/ Gobierno de la República Islámica Irán

Under the relatively moderate President Hasan Rouhani (2013-2021), Iran slowed down its then-current space programme for fear of increasing tensions with the West. But his more hardline replacement, Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave the sector a major boost until his unexpected death late last July. As for the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, his interest in space affairs is unknown. He has yet to meet face-to-face with the presidents of Russia, China and North Korea, which are the backers of Iran’s space technology.

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