Omid
Iranian communications satellite / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Omid (Persian: امید, meaning "Hope")[2] was Iran's first domestically made satellite.[3][4] Omid was a data-processing satellite for research and telecommunications; Iran's state television reported that it was successfully launched on 2 February 2009.[4][5][6] After being launched by an Iranian-made carrier rocket, Safir 1, the satellite was placed into a low Earth orbit. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supervised the launch, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution; NASA verified the launch's success the following day.[7][8] Its Satellite Catalog Number or USSPACECOM object number is 33506.
Operator | ISA |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 2009-004A |
SATCAT no. | 33506 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Launch mass | 26kg |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 2 February 2009 (2009-02-02) |
Rocket | Safir-1 |
Launch site | Semnan |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | April 2009 (2009-05) |
Decay date | 25 April 2009 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Eccentricity | 0 |
Perigee altitude | 258 kilometres (160 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 364.8 kilometres (226.7 mi) |
Inclination | 55.5 degrees |
Period | 90.7 minutes |
Epoch | 2 February 2009, 13:34:00 UTC[1] |
Ahmadinejad said the satellite was launched to spread "monotheism, peace and justice" in the world.[9] The Tehran Times reported that "Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications."[10] Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran launched the satellite to "meet the needs of the country" and that it was "purely for peaceful purposes".[9] Since there was very little encryption on the satellite, data could be collected and read by citizens.[11]
Omid had the shape of a 40-centimeter (16 in) cube with mass of 27 kilograms (60 lb). Sources in the Iranian Space Agency say the satellite's sole payload was a store and forward telecommunication capability.[6]
The launch of Omid makes Iran the ninth country to develop an indigenous satellite launch capability.