Key facts
- Function
- LEO launch vehicle
- Manufacturer
- Iranian Space Agency
- Country of origin
- Iran
- Height
- 22 m (72ft)
- Diameter
- 1.25 m (4.10ft)
- Mass
- 26,000 kg
- Status
- Retired
- Launch sites
- Semnan Space Center
- Total launches
- 7 (1 unconfirmed), (+2 test flights)
- Failure
- 3 (1 unconfirmed)
- First flight
- 17 August 2008
- Last flight
- 5 February 2019
- Powered by
- 1 × modified Shahab-3 engine
- Maximum thrust
- 363 kN (82,000 lb f )
- Propellant
- N 2 O 4 / UDMH
via Wikipedia infobox
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Safir (Persian: سفیر, meaning "ambassador") was the first Iranian expendable launch vehicle able to place a satellite in orbit. The first successful orbital launch using the Safir launch system took place on 2 February 2009 when a Safir carrier rocket placed the Omid satellite into an orbit with a 245.2 km (152.4 mi) apogee. This made Iran the ninth nation capable of producing and launching a satellite.
The Simorgh is a larger orbital launcher based on Safir technology which has since replaced the Safir, and is sometimes called the Safir-2.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Safir” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.