Image via Iranian Defense Ministry/Phys.org
On December 30, spokesman for Iranian Defense Ministry’s Space Group Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini announced that the Simorgh space launch vehicle (SLV) had successfully launched three payloads into the space.
Hosseini said the indigenous satellite carrier rocket had launched the three research devices at an altitude of 470 kilometers.
“The intended research objectives of this launch were achieved,” Hosseini said, in comments broadcast on state television, according to Reuters. “This was done as a preliminary launch … God willing, we will have an operational launch soon.”
Fars News journalist Mohammad Shaltouki revealed that Simoragh had failed to inject its payloads into orbit, because it was unable to reach the required velocity. The rocket reached a speed of 7350 meters per second, while the required speed for a successful injection was 7633 meters per second.
Despite the setback, the successful launch of Simorah, the Persian name for “Phoenix,” remains an achievement for Iran’s space program.
This was the fifth launch of the Simorah SLV which was completely developed in Iran. During the previous launch, which took place on 9 February 2020, the payload, the Zafar-1 satellite, failed to reach orbit.
