Russian Rocket to Launch Two Private Iranian Satellites Today

Russian "Soyuz" rocket is set to launch two private Iranian satellites into orbit late night on November 4.

Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, announced this on social media.

Jalali noted that while Russia has previously launched Iranian satellites, this marks the first instance involving the private sector.

“We hope that the launch of these two satellites will be a strong and decisive first step for the private sector of the Islamic Republic of Iran to enter the space field,” Jalali stated.

The satellites, Koswar and Hodhod, designed for imaging and communication, were developed and built by the Iranian company Omid Faza. They are intended to support agriculture, environmental monitoring, and communication in remote areas.

Russia previously launched Iranian satellites into orbit in 2022 and again in February of this year.

The US had expressed concern over this space cooperation between Russia and Iran, fearing that the satellites could aid Russia in the war against Ukraine and assist Iran in tracking potential military targets in Israel and across the Middle East.