Iran Tests Satellite Carrier with Solid Fuel: General Hajizadeh
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Iran has tested its first homegrown satellite carrier with an engine running on solid fuel.
Addressing a gathering of religious scholars in the Iranian city of Qom on Thursday, Brigadier General Hajizadeh said, “From now on, Iran will be able to launch a great number of satellites using low-cost engines.”
Elaborating on a recent test on an Iranian satellite carrier engine operating on solid fuel, the commander said, “This test has been successfully carried out for the first time” in the country.
“During the past two years, all Iranian satellite carriers, which were tested, operated on liquid fuel. But in this test, we succeeded to use solid-fuel engine with a 66-tonne thrust,” he added, Press TV reported.
Hajizadeh stated that Iran’s new satellite carriers are made of non-metal and composite fuselage, which increases the rocket’s energy and leads to considerable saving in relevant costs.
In February 2021, the Iranian Defense Ministry launched a new satellite carrier with a powerful engine running on solid fuel and capable of lifting satellites toward operational orbits 500 kilometers into space.
The homegrown satellite carrier, dubbed Zoljenah, can carry a satellite weighing 220 kg.
Iran has already three operational satellite carriers, namely Zoljenah, Sarir, and Soroush.
Sarir is capable of carrying a payload of one ton into a height of 1,000 km.