Tehran – The head of the Iranian space agency has announced that the country’s Earth Observation Satellites Zafa and Paya will be launched into orbit in the fall of 2025, following delays from foreign partners.
Hassan Salary, head of the Iranian Space Agency, said on Monday that the satellite, designed to provide color and black and white imaging services, was originally scheduled to be released in 2024, but the schedule was pushed back after foreign launchers were not ready. He noted that the final launch date depends on the provider’s timetable, as other international payloads are set to be deployed on the same mission.
Salarieh confirmed that Iran remains under review for domestic launch options, depending on the technology evaluation and the final timeline announced.
In the infrastructure, Salarieh reported that the first phase of the Chabahar Space Center is nearing completion. Facilities designed for solid fuel launch vehicles include support infrastructure such as management offices, telemetry, command centers, hangars, launch pads, and power and roads. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 and end in 2025, with the base scheduled to start operating in the same year.
“The timing of the initial test launch depends on the preparation of both the launch vehicle and the satellite,” he said. “Once all necessary tests are completed, the exact date will be announced.”
He added that the groundbreaking second phase of the project (imposed on intermediate liquid fuel launch vehicles) will be held this year.
Salarieh also said another Nahid-2, a communications satellite, is scheduled to be released this year using the Simorgh Rocket, developed in Iran’s country.
On July 25, Iran successfully launched the domestically built research and communications satellite Nahid-2 in preparation for a 500-km orbit on a Soyuz-2 rocket from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrom.
The NAHID-2 satellite is a telecommunications microsatellite designed for low-earth orbit (LEO) telecommunication missions, generally defined as an altitude of 160-2,000 km.
The trusted flagship of the Russian space program, the Soyuz-2 Rocket carries the Nahid-2 along with other payloads, reflecting the growing Russo-Iranian space collaboration.