The Safir (, meaning "ambassador") was the first Iranian expendable launch vehicle able to place a satellite in orbit. The first successful orbital launch using the Safir launch system took place on 2 February 2009 when a Safir carrier rocket placed the Omid satellite into an orbit with a apogee. This made Iran the ninth nation capable of producing and launching a satellite.

The Simorgh is a larger orbital launcher based on Safir technology which has since replaced the Safir, and is sometimes called the Safir-2.

Design and specifications The Safir measures 1.25 meters in diameter, 22 meters in height and has a launching mass of 26 tons. The rocket consists of two stages; The first stage utilizes an upgraded Nodong/Shahab-3 type engine which burns a hypergolic combination of UDMH as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidant, producing 37 tons (363 kN; 82,500 lbf) of thrust. The second stage utilizes a pair of smaller gimballed engines called LRE-4, fed by a common turbopump (originally the Vernier engines of the R-27 Zyb Soviet SLBM) burning the same fuel combination as the first stage and producing 3.5 tons (35 kN; 7700 lbf) of thrust. This configuration gives Safir the ability to inject a payload with a maximum weight of 50 kilograms into low Earth orbit.

Variants

Kavoshgar-1 Kavoshgar-1 (, "Explorer-1") was Safir's precursor used as a sounding rocket, a sub-orbital flight was conducted on 4 February 2008, as announced by state-run television. A launch on 25 February 2007 may also have been of the same type. The flight carried instruments to measure the higher atmosphere. The rocket launched on 4 February 2008 was a liquid-propellant-driven rocket, a derivative of the Shahab-3, that reached an altitude of 200–250 km in space, and successfully returned science data according to the Iranian News Agency.

On 19 February 2008, Iran offered new information about the rocket and announced that Kavoshgar-1 used a two staged rocket. The first stage separated after 100 seconds and returned to earth with the help of a parachute. The second stage continued its ascent to an altitude of 200 kilometers.

Safir-1A The Safir-1A is the first upgraded variant of the original Safir, these upgrades include, refinement of the second stage retro-rockets, stage separation systems, various sensors and telemetry systems, navigation and control systems, as well as increasing maximum orbit height from 250 to 275 kilometers.

Safir-1B

The Safir-1B is a further upgrade of the Safir-1A design, the first-stage engine has been upgraded and refined, resulting in an increase in thrust from 32 to 37 tons (363 kN; 82,500 lbf), the second stage engine has been upgraded with thrust vector control capability and has been made more efficient. These upgrades have increased payload capability to 50 kilograms, and have increased maximum orbit height to 400 kilometers.

Retirement During the unveiling ceremony of the Zuljanah satellite launch vehicle on the state TV, Seyed Ahmad Husseini, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense's Aerospace Organization stated that the Safir launch vehicle is in a state of retirement and no further launches are planned with this vehicle.

Launch history

Safir made eight launches in its operational career, putting four satellites into orbit.

Test flights Flight no. Date & time (UTC) Payload Configuration Outcome Remarks 1 4 February 2008 Unknown Kavoshgar-1 Successful suborbital test flight of Safir's precursor. 2 17 August 2008 Unknown; may be boilerplate Safir-1 Iranian officials assert it was a successful suborbital test carrying a boilerplate satellite. US defense officials assert the vehicle failed after first-stage powered flight.Operational flightsFlight no.Date & time (UTC)Payload ConfigurationOutcomeAchieved orbitRemarks 1 2 February 2009 Omid27 kg Safir-1 381.2 x 245.5 km, i 55.71° First successful orbital launch of Safir making Iran the ninth country to develop an indigenous satellite launch capability. 2 15 June 2011 Rasad15.3 kg Safir-1A 271 x 233 km, i 55.6° Rasad-1 was launched on the maiden flight of the Safir-1A 3 3 February 2012 Navid50 kg Safir-1B 375 x 250 km, i 55° New configuration of the Safir carrier rocket, featuring a larger second stage with 20% more thrust. ? Between 18 May and 21 June 2012 ? ? ? Satellite imagery shows a blast scar on launch pad, suggesting that there has been a launch. No officials have confirmed a launch. It may have been either an engine test or rocket failure at high altitude. 5 2 February 2015 Fajr52 kg Safir-1B 470 x 224 km, i 55.57° First Iranian satellite with orbital maneuverability using cold-gas thrusters. 6 5 February 2019 Doosti52 kg Safir-1B The Deputy Minister of Defense in Iran claimed a successful launch. Research associates at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies claimed the launch failed at some point after liftoff. (7) 29 August 2019 No payload Safir-1B Launch preparation accident.Iranian Rocket Launch Ends In Failure, Imagery Shows npr.orgIran rocket launch failure satellite photo space.com

Gallery

See also International rankings of Iran in Science and Technology Iranian Space Agency Semnan Space Center Other Iranian satellite launch vehicles

Simorgh (rocket) Qased (rocket) Qaem-100 (rocket) Zuljanah (rocket)

References

External links

Iran's Research Rocket Beams Back Science Data, Space.com Iran Launches Rocket, Unveils Space Center, Space.com , SpaceRef.com Iran rocket claim raises tension, BBC Iran: Rocket Launch Another Show Of Prowess, RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty Iran claims space rocket launch, AlJazeera Iranians inaugurate space project, BBC Iran to Launch 2 More Research Rockets Before Placing Satellite into Orbit This Summer, on Space.com Iran Launches Indigenous Carrier Rocket