Shahroud Space Center
Iranian space launch center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shahroud Space Center (Persian:پایگاه فضایی شاهرود) is a Military Spaceport under control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGCASF) located south-east of Shahroud Semnan Province, used to orbit military satellites for Iran's military space program.[2]
| Sharoud Space Center | |
|---|---|
| |
| Site information | |
| Type | Spaceport |
| Operator | IRGCASF |
| Condition | Operational |
| Location | |
  Sharoud Space Center Location within Iran | |
| Coordinates | 36.2009°N 55.3339°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | late 1980s [1] |
Overview
The launch of the Noor 1 satellite on April 22, 2020, using the Qased launch vehicle out of Shahroud space center revealed the existence of a parallel military space program run by the IRGC as opposed to Iran's civil space program run by the Iranian Space Agency (ISA).[3]
The site features a 23-meter-tall servicing tower, a concrete launch pad 200 by 140 meters and an exhaust deflector with a length of 125 meters; Interestingly, the site features no storage facilities and fuel tanks for liquid rocket propellant, and is primarily designed to launch solid fueled launch vehicles such as the Qaem.[4][5]
Launch history
| Launch # | Date | Launch Vehicle | Payload | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 April 2020 | Qased | Noor 1 | Success | Iran's first military satellite |
| 2 | 8 March 2022 | Qased | Noor 2 | Success | Iran's second military satellite |
| 3 | 5 November 2022[6] | Qaem 100 | N/A | Success | First sub-orbital test |
| 4 | 4 March 2023[7][8] | Qaem 100 | Nahid-1 | Failure | First Qaem 100 orbital launch attempt |
| 5 | 27 September 2023[9] | Qased | Noor 3 | Success | Iran's third military satellite |
| 6 | 20 January 2024[10] | Qaem 100 | Soraya | Success | Research satellite for the Iranian Space Agency |
| 7 | 14 September 2024 | Qaem 100 | Chamran 1 | Success | |
| 8 | 20 July 2025[11] | Qased | Success | Suborbital test flight |