Iranian Knowledge-Based Firms Building Upgraded Version of Kowsar Satellite

“Our first step was to ensure that the satellites were launched into orbit correctly, which is what happened. The correct launch of the satellite into the orbit depends on the performance of the satellite and the interface between the satellite and the satellite carrier, both of which are part of the product achievements of our company,” said Hossein Shahrabi, the managing director of an Iranian knowledge-based company active in the space sector.

He described the next step of this project as the stabilization of the satellite in the orbit, and said, “The panel section of these satellites is another achievement of our company, as telemetry data indicates that the solar panels are performing well and charging and discharging are taking place.”

Shahrabi referred to the design and construction of the upgraded model of the Kowsar sensing satellite, and said, “The tests of this satellite have been carried out with the launcher and the necessary adjustments have been made in full.”

Noting that the satellite is used in the field of agriculture, he said, “To utilize it, we need a set of smart measures to implement two main missions; first, providing images of plant greenery every 24 hours and second, online and real-time Internet of Things communications.”

Earlier reports, in January, also said that an advanced version of the Kowsar satellite, named Kowsar 1.5, would be launched into the space in the first half of current Persian calendar year (started on March 21).

The Kowsar 1.5 satellite, the result of the efforts of the Iranian experts, is an upgraded version of the Kowsar and Hodhod satellites that were launched into space earlier this year. The two satellites play a key role in the development of precision agriculture with their remote sensing (Kowsar) and Internet of Things (Hodhod) missions.

“The combined version of the Kowsar and Hodhod missions, named Kowsar 1.5, will be launched in the first half of next year, and efforts are being made to design and produce a system of these satellites by attracting capital,” Hossein Shahrabi, the managing director of a company active in designing and manufacturing light and low-cost satellites, was quoted by the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy as saying.

Two domestically-manufactured Iranian satellites were successfully launched into space in November in a debut entrance by the country’s private sector in the space industry.

Kowsar and Hodhod were launched into orbit from the Vostochny spaceport in eastern Russia in November, using a Russian Soyuz satellite launcher.

The development marked the first triumphant attempt by the Islamic Republic’s private sector towards production of satellites and their placement into orbit and was, therefore, deemed as an important and unprecedented step in the country’s space industry.

Kowsar is a remote-sensing satellite with the capability to capture high-resolution imagery for various purposes across the agricultural, natural resources, environmental, and crisis management fields among other areas.

Hodhod has, meanwhile, been described as a small-sized satellite with communication applications, including creation of communication networks and contributions to the Internet of Things (IoT).

The latter could be used towards provision of communication services in remote and inaccessible areas, where land communication networks are not available.

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