But the new Rasad satellite was smaller than the first and was launched by the same small rocket used before, not the new and larger rocket Iran has been boasting about.
This second satellite was sent into space two years and four months after Iran became the ninth nation to successfully orbit a satellite February 2, 2009. That satellite, Omid (Hope), was four times heavier than Rasad is.
No one has explained the long delay before launching the second satellite—and then launching a much smaller one. The Soviet Union and United States launched their second satellites only weeks after orbiting their first satellites. However, the long delay naturally suggests to many observers that Iran is having problems with its space program.
The newest satellite, Rasad (Observer), was built by Malek Ashtar University, which is linked to the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards).
Officials said earth stations had received photos of the earth transmitted from Rasad, but as of a week after the launch no such photos have been published in Iran, raising questions about whether the satellite is fully functioning. The satellite is definitely in orbit, however. That has been confirmed by American space trackers.
Western reactions have mainly focused on the military aspects of the launch. The ability to put a satellite into orbit gives Iran the theoretical capability to plunk a nuclear weapon down anywhere on earth. However, the Safir (Ambassador) rocket that carried Rasad aloft is not big enough to carry a bomb. Iran has said the Safir has a diameter of only 1.25 meters (4.1 feet), meaning that an average adult could put his or her arms around the Safir with lots of room to spare. News reports have said the largest payload the Safir can carry is 50 kilos (110 pounds).
Iran did not say why it used the Safir rocket. For more than a year, Iran has been boasting about its new and much larger Simorgh rocket. Iran has shown off a mockup of the Simorgh, but it has never announced any test flights, suggesting the Simorgh may not yet be ready for prime time.
Rasad is now in orbit 260 kilometers above the earth, circling the earth once every 90 minutes. Readers can go to www.n2yo.com/?s=37675, a satellite tracking service, to see where Rasad is overhead at any time. Click on “5 day predictions” on the right of the screen to see when Rasad will be over your location in the coming five days.
The Rasad is expected to stay in orbit about two months before falling back into the atmosphere and burning up.
The government announced the launch of Rasad only after it had been fired into orbit. Iran has not yet announced launches in advance, suggesting it doesn’t feel confident its equipment will work. That also suggests that the huge delay between Iran’s first and second satellite launches might indicate it has made some attempts in between that failed.
Rasad has solar panels to provide it with power, a step forward from the battery power used on Iran’s first satellite. Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi boasted that the Rasad possesses all the characteristics of a large satellite, despite its size, which categorizes it as a micro-satellite. The term micro-satellite is commonly applied to satellites weighting 10 to 100 kilos.
However, the Rasad has very limited capabilities. Iran has not described the resolution of the camera on board, but it has given the resolution of another camera being prepared for orbiting. And that camera will provide photos only 1/800th as good as satellite photos that are available commercially.
Hossain Bolandi showed off the Navid satellite he is working on. It weighs 50 kilos, triple the size of the just-launched Rasad. Bolandi said the camera on the Navid would be able to see objects more than 400 meters across or the size of four football fields. But commercial satellites like the GeoEye1 now is service show objects only 50 centimeters (20 inches) across and US spy satellites are understood to discern objects as small as 1 centimeter (a half inch) in size.
Iran’s announced space plans change with such frequency that the space program appears to be run with little professionalism. After orbiting the Rasad, Iran’s Space Agency chief, Hamid Fazeli, announced yet another launch schedule.
He said the Kavoshgar-5 will be launched in Mordad (July-August). Kavoshgar is a sounding rocket, not a satellite launcher. It will fly straight into space and then fall back to earth. Fazeli said he hoped this Kavoshgar mission will carry a monkey into space.
Fazeli said the next satellite will be lofted in Mehr (September-October). It will be named Fajr (Dawn) and is being built by the Defense Ministry.
Next February, he said, the Navid (Herald) satellite produced by the Science and Industry University is to be orbited during the celebration of the anniversary of the revolution.
Whether that schedule will be adhered to is another matter.
The Rasad was first named as a planned satellite in an announcement July 7, 2010, when officials said it would be launched in the last week of August 2010. But on August 16, 2010, officials said it would be orbited before Now Ruz 2011. Last February 7, officials said it would be launched before Now Ruz 2012, which it was.
There are currently 3,000 satellites orbiting he effort. New satellites are currently launched at the rate of two a week.
Iran is only the ninth country to put a satellite into orbit on board its own rocket. The others are the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States in 1958, France in 1965, Japan in 1970, China in 1970, Britain in 1971, India in 1980 and Israel in 1988.