TEHRAN: The Iranian Space Agency (ISA) has announced that it has received the first telemetry data from the Nahid-2 satellite, which was launched into orbit Friday morning, reported IRNA news agency.
The data confirmed that the satellite is intact and functioning properly. Hassan Salarieh, the head of the ISA, said that Nahid-3 is currently under construction.
Developed by the Iranian Space Research Institute and the ISA, the Nahid-2 communication satellite was launched into space aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome on Friday.
The Nahid-2 is an upgraded version of Nahid-1. Iran has been actively involved in space technology development since 2005. Several Iranian knowledge-based companies cooperated in building the Nahid-2, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) microsatellite designed to operate at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
Weighing approximately 110 kilograms, the satellite represents a major step forward in Iran’s plans to develop both LEO communications satellite constellations and future Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) telecommunications systems.
With Nahid-2 now in orbit, Iran’s indigenous Ku-band communication technologies will undergo operational testing in space for the first time.
