Iran launches Hodhod, Kowsar satellites into 500 km orbit

Two Iranian satellites Kowsar and Hodhod were successfully launched into a 500-kilometer orbit early on Tuesday, along with 51 other satellites, aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

According to the Center for Communications and Information Technology of the Iranian scientific vice presidency, Hodhod and Kowsar are the first satellites produced by a private sector knowledge-based company in Iran. 

These satellites were developed over five years with the support of the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy.

The launch took place at 2:48 a.m. on Tuesday, with the Soyuz 2.1B version, which has conducted 1,900 launches to date, marking the first step in the formation of a satellite constellation, which will eventually consist of 200 satellites of the Hodhod and Kowsar types, paving the way for comprehensive spatial monitoring and communication.

The Kowsar satellite adheres to the CubeSat standard, reducing the time and cost of construction. Its primary mission is precision monitoring in the fields of agriculture and mapping. It is equipped with cameras in the NIR and RGB spectra with a resolution of 3.45 meters GSD. 

The Hodhod satellite’s services will be primarily used in agriculture, transportation, logistics, and environmental sectors.