SPACE LAUNCH REPORT Simorgh Launch Vehicle Flight History by Variant/Year (1998-Present) by: Ed Kyle Last Update: January 29, 2024 Page 1 of 1: L(F) = Number of Launches(Number of Failures) Simorgh Orbit Grand Totals Totals Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2010 - - - - 2011 - - 2012 - - 2013 - - - - 2014 - - - - 2015 - - 2016 1(1)[*] - - 1(1) 2017 1(1) - 1(1) 1(1) 2018 - - - - 2019 1(1) - 1(1) 1(1) 2020 1(1) - 1(1) 1(1) 2021 2(2) - 2(2) 2(2) 2022 - - - - 2023 - - - - 2024 1(0) - 1(0) 1(0) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Simorgh Orbit Grand Totals Totals L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Suborb 1(1) - - 1(1) Orbit 6(5) - 6(5) 6(5) Total 7(6) - 6(5) 7(6) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Footnotes: [*] Suborbital attempt. BM-25 is four-engine single-stage IRBM, similar to N. Korea's Musudan stage. Simorgh uses BM-25 like first stage topped by smaller diameter second stage. Planned for orbital launches. Flies from new Khomeini launch `center at Semnan. SIMORGH LAUNCH VEHICLE After joining the "Space Club" in 2009 when its small Safir launch vehicle orbited Omid ("Hope"), Iran sought to develop a more powerful orbital launcher named Simorgh ("Phoenix"). Simorgh would use four of Safir's first stage engines to lift a roughly 87 tonne rocket, 62 tonnes heavier than Safir. It would be designed to carry 350 kg to low Earth orbit, nearly seven times more than Safir. Safir was derived from Iran's Shahab ("Shooting Star") 3 intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) series, itself likely based on North Korea's Nodong missile. Because it would be derived from the same base Nodong technology, Simorgh would end up looking a lot like North Korea's successful Unha 2/3 launch vehicle. Four fixed Nodong type engines provide most of the thrust for Simorgh's first stage, burning UDHM/N2O4 to produce about 121 tonnes of liftoff thrust. They are augmented by four steering nozzles powered by a single turbopump making an additional roughly 14 tonnes thrust for a total of about 135 tonnes thrust. Like Unha 2/3, Simorgh's first stage is be 2.4 meters diameter. A large new launch pad was built for Simorgh in the Dasht-e-Kavir desert southeast of Semnan, Iran near 35.238 N, 53.951 E. It features a mobile service tower, fixed umbilical tower, and underground flame trench, a more substantial site than the Safir flat pad several km to the west. Launches are aimed toward the southeast, toward the Arabian Sea. The second stage may be derived from the smaller Safir launch vehicle's second stage. The small, third, "kick" stage is likely housed within the payload fairing. Simorgh reportedly stands 27 meters and weighs 87 tonnes at liftoff. The rocket may be able to lift 350 kg to low Earth orbit in its ultimate form. Payam reportedly weighed less than 100 kg. ================================================================== Simorgh Configurations (Estimates) ------------------------------------------------------------------ LEO Payload Configuration Height GLOW (tonnes) (meters) (tonnes) 250 km x 55 deg ================================================================== Simorgh 0.35 t 3-Stage Simorgh ~26.5 m ~86 t ================================================================== ================================================================== Simorgh Components (Estimates Only) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 PLF (Saman-1) ================================================================== Diameter (m) 2.4 m 1.5 m ~0.6 m 1.5 m Length (m) 17.82 m ~5.5 m ~1.25 m 3.2 m Mp (tonnes) ~63.0 t ~8.0 t ~0.185 t GLOW (tonnes) ~75.7 t ~9.6 t ~0.315 t ~0.12 t Engine 4xNodong 2xLRE-4 Arash-24 +LRE 15 Solid Steering +Biprop RCS PAF/Bus Engine Mfgr Fuel UDMH UDMH Solid Oxidizer N2O4 N2O4 T(SL tons) ~135.9 t T(Vac tons) ~7.3 t ~1.3 t ISP (SL sec) ~240 s - - ISP (Vac sec) ~283 s ~292 s ~286 s Burn Time (sec) ~120 s ~320 s ~40 s No. Engines 4+1xSteer (4 Nozzle Steering) 2 1 ================================================================== ================================================================== SPACE LAUNCH REPORT SIMORGH ORBITAL/SUBORBITAL LAUNCH LOG ================================================================== DATE VEHICLE ID PAYLOAD MASS(t) SITE* ORBIT** ------------------------------------------------------------------ 04/19/16 Simorgh MMSB001 2-Stg Suborb. test? SE 2 SUB 07/27/17 Simorgh 3-Stg Orb. Attempt? SE 2 [FTO] 01/15/19 Simorgh Payam 0.1 SE 2 [FTO] 02/09/20 Simorgh MRSC001 Zafar 1 0.113 SE 2 [FTO] 06/12/21 Simorgh Tolou 2? SE 2 [FTO] 12/30/21 Simorgh UKSC001 3-devices SE 2 [FTO] 01/28/24 Simorgh DRSC001 Mahda + 2 Cubesats 0.034 SE 2 LEO ------------------------------------------------------------------ [MMSB001] Probable 2-stage suborbital test of Iran's Simorgh launch vehicle. Some claim test failed. Semnan (SE) launch site, Pad 2. [07/27/17] Probale 3-stage orbital test attempt. Stage 2 failure. [01/15/19] Stage 3 failure. No orbit. [MRSC001] Failed to orbit. Reached orbital altitude. Possible Stage 2 or 3 failure. [06/12/21] Failure not announced. Deduced from commercial imaging sat photos of launch pad. [UKSC001] Reached 470 km and 7,350 meters per second, about 300 meters per second short of orbital velocity. Iran claimed all objectives achieved, but outside analysts believe it was a failed orbital try. [DRSC001] First Simorgh orbital success. 32 kg Mahda and 2x 3U Cubesats (Kayhan 2 and Hatef 1) to 465 x 1117 km x 58.7 deg. ================================================================== References www.globalsecurity.com www.armscontrolwonk.com www.b14643.de/Spacerockets/index.htm Last Update: January 29, 2024