Iran will have men in space within ten years

Iran has pursued an ambitious space program in recent years, entering the so-called ‘Asian Space Race’ and launching the country’s first rocket in 2004, followed in 2009 by the launch of an entirely domestically-built satellite, thereby becoming the 9^th country in the world to have achieved orbital-launch capability.

The progress made by the Iranian Space Agency is impressive given that the institution was only established in 2003, but now Iran’s space officials are setting their sights even further and have reportedly begun work on the first phase of a decade-long project to put men in space.

The complexities of putting men in space make the venture a prohibitive one for many nations given the huge cost and the time needed to perfect space flight systems, hence the decade-long schedule put forward by the Iranian Space Agency, which is currently working on design and implementation scenarios using research supplied by major Iranian universities.

The project was confirmed in late 2010 by Mohammad Mardani, the Iranian Space Agency’s deputy head for space technology, who told Iran news media that the project had been developed at the direct request of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been responsible for a number of major developments in Iran’s space and military capability.

The Space Agency has said 2017 is the year in which the country will send a manned shuttle beyond the earth’s atmosphere, following a revision of the manned shuttle project which had initially expected to send an Iranian astronaut into space by 2021.

Iran’s Space Agency has developed an extensive history of satellite development and successful launch from the Omid satellite, which was launched using the homegrown Safir SLV satellite launch vehicle to the Zohre satellite, which will reportedly be launched within the next four years and is also a national project. Both satellites are designed for research and telecommunications operations.

Omid’s primary mission was to gather data, which would help space officials develop and launch an operational satellite to enhance the independent telecommunications and research capabilities of the country. The first Omid satellite to be launched carried eight antennae and was equipped with two frequency bands.

Later generations of the Safir SLV, which carries the satellites into orbit, have had their technological specifications concealed by the Iranian government, greatly aggravating fears in an already paranoid west over the country’s exact space capability and intentions.

However, the development of the launch vehicle to date has been aimed at putting in orbit peaceful communications and research satellites and the space agency is working openly with several countries around the world on joint programs, designed to mitigate fears of Iran’s advanced military capacity.

The country has become involved in a number of regional and international space projects and is working with 9 countries in the Asia-Pacific region on a joint satellite, as well as with several Middle Eastern countries keen to develop their own space programs or involvement in existing space agency operations.

Iran is one of several countries in the region to have developed an aggressive space capability. Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia have space programs that are currently in their formative years, while Iran is among just five Asian countries that have independently launched a satellite into orbit: Japan, China, India and Israel being the other four.

The manned flight ambitions of the ISA are not unique. China achieved manned space flight capability in 2003, while India has indicated it would like to have ability to send men into space by 2015, while Japan’s manned space flight project has a similar time span to Iran, with 2020 identified as the deadline.

The contentious Asian Space Race (contentious as it is an unconfirmed space race) has many motivations, not only national pride, but real-world commercial, investment and national security concerns as well.

A viable space program is essential to the development of various high-tech industries and is also beneficial to major tertiary institutions, which provides a better foundation to the national economy through the development of world-class education.

Asia has made huge strides in its various space programs over the years and many believe that the continent will soon eclipse the capability of both Europe and North America, making the ongoing efforts of Iran all the more significant.