Country dossier · IRN

Iran

Emerging space nation

A sourced snapshot of Iran's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Iran in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Emerging space nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: yesLaunch sites on record: 2Nationals who have flown: 1

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

Iranian Space Agency (ISA)

National space agency · established 2004 · two-source verified

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

10

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

6

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

$400M

Emerging spender · 2026 · Iranian Space Agency

Source: Novaspace · Government Space Programs

National strategy

10-Year Strategic Plan of the Iranian Space Agency / Article 9 of the Law for Tasks and Authorizations of the Ministry of ICT (2004)

Iranian Space Agency operates under statutory mandate covering launch capability, EO and communications, with multi-year programmatic plans

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Signed only
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Signed only
Moon Agreement 1979Not a party
Artemis Accords 2020Not a signatory

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

  • Imam Khomeini Spaceport (Semnan)Iranian Space Agency (ISA) / Iranian Space Research Center · Semnan province · orbital · since 2008
  • Shahrud Missile Test SiteIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force · Shahrud, Semnan province · orbital · since 2020

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Anousheh AnsariSpace Adventures · first flight 2006 · First Iranian-born woman in space and first Muslim woman in space (Iranian-American)

Source: This source holds nothing for this country

Milestones

  • 2004Iranian Space Agency (ISA) established
  • 2006First national in space
  • 2008First orbital launch from national soil

Notable missions and contributions

  • Safir-1B rocket — first Iranian domestically-launched satellite Omid (2009)
  • Simorgh (Roc) heavy-lift vehicle development
  • Nour military reconnaissance satellite (IRGC, 2020)
  • Pars-1 EO satellite (2023)
  • Nahid-1/-2 communications satellite programme (ISA)
  • Ka-band satellite communications development