Zuljanah (Persian: ماهوارهبر ذوالجناح), also spelled Zoljanah (and with a host of other spellings appearing sporadically), is an Iranian Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV),[5][6][7] made by the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran), which was unveiled on 1 February 2021, and was launched (at an unknown time before 1 February 2021, possibly 31 January 2021) into sub-orbital flight (apogee 500km) for testing and telemetry purposes.[8][9][10] Zuljanah is able to carry satellites weighing up to 220kg into an orbit 500 kilometers above the Earth.[11][12][13]
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Zuljanah Satellite Launch Vehicle
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Manufacturer | Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran) |
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Country of origin | ![]() |
Size | |
Height | 25.5 meters |
Diameter | 1.5 meters |
Mass | 52 tons |
Stages | 3 (1st & 2nd Solid; 3rd Liquid) |
Capacity | |
Payload to low Earth orbit | |
Mass | 220 kg (490 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Under Development |
Launch sites | Semnan Space Center |
Total launches | 0 (+2 suborbital) |
Success(es) | 0 (+2 suborbital) |
Failure(s) | 0 |
First stage | |
Powered by | 1 × unnamed solid fuel engine |
Maximum thrust | 725 kN (163,000 lbf) |
Propellant | solid |
Second stage | |
Powered by | 1 × unnamed solid fuel engine |
Maximum thrust | 725 kN (163,000 lbf) |
Propellant | solid |
Third stage | |
Powered by | 2 × R-27 Zyb vernier engines |
Maximum thrust | 35 kN (7,900 lbf) |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
According to Seyed Ahmad Husseini, the space spokesman of the Ministry of Defense: The Zuljanah SLV is part of a larger project called "Hazrat Fatemeh Al-Zahra" (Persian: حضرت فاطمه الزهراء). This SLV is considered to be the first indigenously designed and manufactured hybrid fuel satellite launch vehicle (solid/liquid fuel).[14][15][16] As of June 2022, two more test flights are planned.[17]
Zuljanah measures 25.5 meters (84ft) in length, and has a mass of 52 tons (115,000lbs). The first and second stages utilize an identical 1.5m diameter solid-fuel engine with 74 tons (725 kN; 163,000 lbf) of thrust and a Safir type 1.25m diameter liquid-fuel (UDMH /N2O4) engine with a thrust of 3.5 tons (35 kN; 7,800 lbf) as a third stage. Zuljanah is capable of carrying a single satellite weighing up to 220kg or a constellation of ten smaller 20kg cubesatstoLow-Earth Orbit.[18][19][9][10]
Zuljanah is the third civilian Satellite Launch Vehicle made in Iran, after the Safir and Simorgh. It is road-mobile, requires very little fueling time, and can be launched by Transporter-Erector Launchers (TELs), raising alarms from US and EU European defense analysts about its possible covert nature as Iran's first IRBM.[20][21]
Flight No. | Date & Time (UTC) | Payload | Outcome | Remarks |
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1 | 31 January 2021 | Unknown; may be boilerplate | Success | First sub-orbital test flight |
2 | 26 June 2022 | Unknown | Success | Second sub-orbital test flight |
Other Iranian satellite launch vehicles