Iran, Russia working on joint research spacecraft

In an interview with Tehrna-based Tasnim news agency, the president of the University of Tehran said the academic center has recently signed an agreement with the Moscow State University to develop a research spacecraft within two years.

Mohammad Moqimi noted that the execution of the project has kicked off, a working group has been set up, and the scientific activities related to the joint project have gotten underway.

A secretariat has also been established at the University of Tehran’s scientific and research department to oversee the project, he added.

He also noted that the Iranian vice president has assigned the Plan and Budget Organization of Iran to finance part of the joint project.

In recent years, the relations between Iran and Russia have been developing in all areas, from trade to military deals as well as the space sector.

In August 2022, Iran sent its homegrown remote sensing satellite "Khayyam" into orbit by a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan.

Apart from strategic cooperation with Russia, a country with an advanced space industry, Iran plans to enhance its domestic space technology, Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology Eesa Zarepoor said after the blastoff.