WANA (Aug 20) – The head of the Iranian Space Agency announced that after a satellite reaches the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) using the Simorgh launch vehicle, orbital transfer blocks will be employed to convert the elongated elliptical orbit into a circular orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers (GEO orbit).

 

In an interview, Hassan Salarieh, President of the Iranian Space Agency, provided an update on the upgraded Simorgh satellite launcher developed by specialists at the Aerospace Industries Organization of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. He explained that Simorgh has different versions:

 

Its low Earth orbit (LEO) version has so far carried out various suborbital and orbital launches. The last two launches were both successful, with the most recent placing a payload of about 300 kilograms into low Earth orbit. Additional launches are also planned.

 

The upgraded version of Simorgh is currently in the research and development phase. Suborbital and experimental launches of this version began last year.

 

Salarieh said the main goal of these experimental launches is to achieve Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)—a highly elliptical orbit with an apogee of about 36,000 km and a perigee of only a few hundred kilometers from Earth.

 

He noted that such parameters depend on factors including engine fuel capacity, burn time, and stage separation, payload mass, and other design specifications.

 

He added that more advanced versions of Simorgh are also under research and development, with multiple upgrades being applied to engines and different stages.

 

These versions are still in the design phase. Once a satellite reaches GTO, orbital transfer blocks will be activated to circularize the orbit at 36,000 km altitude (GEO).

 

According to Salarieh, reaching GEO orbit typically requires multiple steps, including upgrading launch vehicles and developing orbital transfer blocks, so that larger payloads can be placed in GSO and GEO orbits at approximately 36,000 km.

 

He further noted that both solid-fuel and liquid-fuel orbital transfer blocks are under development in Iran. The liquid-fuel versions are being built by colleagues in the Ministry of Defense and the Aerospace Industries Organization. The combination of these transfer blocks with launch vehicles will make it possible to place satellites into higher-altitude orbits.

The “Simorgh” satellite carrier launched at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on December 6, 2024. Iran’s Ministry of Defense/WANA (West Asia News Agency)