The ceremony marking the 9th National Day of Space Technology was inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani at Iran International Conference Center.

Iran is planning to launch Nahid-2 telecommunication satellite in the next Persian year. According to Iran’s Space Research Center, this satellite can make telephone communications between two points on Earth.

Iran Space Agency has been raising its game in the recent years and has successfully launched a number of indigenous satellites into the orbit. Nahid-2 (meaning Venus) is the advanced version of Nahid-1, a telecommunication satellite which is planned to be launched in the next Persian year (1397), as Mehr News reported. According to Hassan Hadadpour, Head of Iran Space Research Center, the first phase of Iranian Space Research laboratory is ready now. “The second phase of this laboratory is designed in two stages, the first stage is designed to support the two satellites of Nahid-2 and Soha,” said Hadadpour. He added that the first stage of the second phase of the laboratory will come into operation in the upcoming months.

The three main features of Nahid-1 are 3-axes stabilization, telecommunication technology and benefiting from a solar panel. For Nahid-2, the data from Nahid-1 satellite will be consolidated and the 3-axes stabilization will be enhanced. “So far, the country’s satellites had limited lifespan orbital maneuvers, but Nahid-2 satellite has a propulsion system installed,” said the head of Iran Space Research Center.

Nahid-2 weighs 100 kilograms and has a dimension of 64×64 centimeters and will be placed in the geosynchronous orbit. This telecommunication satellite will benefit from solar cells and lithium-ion batteries.

According to Hadadpour, Iran Space Agency is working with the local universities in some areas including joint research activities and sub-satellites. Hadadpour also stated that apart from the topic of satellite launch, the country does not face any issues and can access all the technologies related to telecommunication and sensing satellites.

Iran is amongst one the few countries with the ability to design, build and launch satellites into the space. Sinah-1 was the country’s first satellite launched into the space in 2005. Omid, Rasad-1, Navid-e Elm-o Sanat and Fajr are the other Iranian satellites which have been successfully launched. Nahid-1 and Dousti satellites are also expected to be sent into the orbit in the upcoming months.  

Hamed Jafari TechRasa