Iranian TV Showcases New Mobile Zoljanah Missile Launcher: In The Future, We Will Have A Launcher That Can Carry 15-Ton Payload To 200 Kilometer Altitude

Channel 4 (Iran) aired a report about Zoljanah, a new mobile satellite launcher, tested by Iran that aired on February 1, 2021. Ahmad Hosseini, the spokesman for the Aerospace Team in Iran's Defense Ministry, said that the main goal of this launch was to get flight affirmation for the launcher's solid fuel engine and to see it soar and move towards orbit. He said that the most important thing about this missile launcher is that it does not require a stationary launching base. The report included footage from the "hot test" of the first-stage engine of the Zoljanah Hybrid Satellite.

Speaker: "We begin the process of the first research launch of the hybrid satellite launcher 'Zoljanah,' for a sub-orbit test, with the sacred code of oh Fatima Zahra, oh Fatima Zahra, oh Fatima Zahra, and to the tune of Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar. The countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 An order to the [launch] pad: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 — Fire!"

Ahmad Hosseini: "With this launch, we achieved [our] most powerful solid fuel engine, and it is used for space activity. Is this the first-stage or second-stage engine? Both the first- and second-stage engines of this satellite launcher use solid fuel. The third-stage engine uses liquid fuel.

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"Our main goal in this launch was to get flight affirmation for our solid fuel engine."

Interviewer: "Just to see that the satellite launcher soars and moves toward orbit?"

Hosseini: "Yes."

Interviewer: "What is the power of the engine in the video that we are about to watch?"

Hosseini: "The engine you saw, as I've said, uses the most powerful solid fuel ever developed in our country."

Interviewer: "Even compared to military engines?"

Hosseini: "Yes. This engine is 1.5 meters in diameter. In other words, our first-stage engine is 1.5 meters in diameter. We have managed to get a thrust of 75 tons out of it, and it can be upgraded to 100 tons. In the future, inshallah, we will get to the Sarir satellite launcher that will carry a payload of one ton to an altitude of 1,000 kilometers. The base..."

Interviewer: "What about the Soroush satellite launcher?"

Hosseini: "Soroush is meant for geosynchronous orbits and very high tonnage. With Soroush, we will carry a payload of 15 tons to an altitude of 200 kilometers."

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Interviewer: "We are seeing now an image of the roadmap."

Hosseini: "What we are seeing is the roadmap about which I have explained. We will have the Zoljanah for lighter payloads, Sarir for heavier payload in LEO orbit, and Soroush for GEO orbit. We will be able to use Soroush to launch a large number of satellites to low altitudes, similar to the recent launch by SpaceX, which, in a single launch, placed about 140 satellites in their low altitude position. This is possible when heavy satellite launchers are used.

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"One of the characteristics of Zoljanah is that we do not need a stationary launching base."