On 2 February 2009 the Islamic Republic of Iran made its first satellite launch, using a Safir rocket to deploy a small satellite, Omid. Ten years later Iran is boastful about plans for the future of its space program as it begins to mature, with new rockets entering service and new satellites preparing to launch.<\/p>\n
The February 2009 launch of Omid, whose name means \u201cHope\u201d in Farsi, saw Iran become the ninth sovereign nation to place a satellite into orbit using a rocket of their own development.<\/p>\n
Omid was not Iran\u2019s first satellite: Sina-1 was launched three and a half years earlier, however this spacecraft was constructed by Russia\u2019s NPO Polyot and it flew to orbit atop a Kosmos-3M rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, rather than using an Iranian vehicle. With Omid, Iran demonstrated its self-reliance: building much of the satellite and performing the launch itself.<\/p>\n
This self-reliance has proven importance for Iran\u2019s space program, providing access to space at a time when political pressures and sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to find international partners for its efforts. The West, for its part, has often characterized Iran\u2019s space ambitions as cover to develop and improve its missiles.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s successful launch of Omid likely came at the second attempt. In August 2008 it was reported that Iran\u2019s first satellite launch was imminent, with the \u201cSafir Omid\u201d mission lifting off on 17 August. Immediately after the launch, Iran claimed that the Omid satellite had been placed into orbit, later revising this to an inert demonstration payload, and finally to a suborbital test after Western observers confirmed no new objects had been found in orbit.<\/p>\n
In reality, the August 2008 launch was probably Iran\u2019s first attempt to orbit its satellite. In the days that followed the media cited unnamed US military officials who claimed \u2013 from data collected by Defense Support System (DSP) satellites used to track missile launches and from naval assets in the area \u2013 that the rocket had gone off course shortly after its first stage separated.<\/p>\n
Whether the 2008 launch was a successful test, unsuccessful test, or a failed attempt to launch Omid, within six months Iran\u2019s first indigenously-launched satellite was in orbit. Another Safir rocket lifted off at 22:04 local time (18:34 UTC) on 2 February 2009 \u2013 a date chosen to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolution \u2013 and deployed Omid into low Earth orbit a few minutes later.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n