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Iran's new space launch vehicle "Simorgh IRILV"
Norbert Brügge, Germany
Update: 13.04.2012
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TEHRAN, 2010, Jan.
29 -- Iranian defense minister Ahmad Vahidi announced that the country plans
to unveil a home-made engine for satellite carrier rockets within the next few
days.
"Toloo and Mesbah satellites as well as Simorgh satellite carrier engine will be unveiled in the ceremonies from February 1-11,
celebrating the victory of the Islamic Revolution back in 1979," Vahidi added.
TEHRAN, 2010, Febr. 01 -- Iran will unveil five space projects at ceremonies
to celebrate the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Fars news agency
said.
On the third day of the festivities, Iranian authorities will hold a presentation
of the Toloo satellite, the Mesbah-2 and Navid research satellites, and the
engine for the new Simorgh booster rocket.
TEHRAN, 2010, Febr. 03 -- State
television carried pictures of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiling the home-built
satellite rocket dubbed the "Simorgh".
The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue with the words "Satellite
Carrier Simorgh," is equipped to carry a 100-kilogram satellite 500 kilometres
into orbit, the television report said. The launch weight of the rocket is given
with 85 tonnes.
TEHRAN (FARS) -- Iran unveiled a new home-made satellite carrier. The
satellite carrier named “Simorgh” utilizes a new generation of liquid-fuel engines
to put satellites in orbit. The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue
with the words "Satellite Carrier Simorgh", is equipped to carry a 100-kilogram
satellite 500 kilometers into orbit.
"The 27-meter tall multi-stage rocket
weighs 85 tons and its liquid fuel propulsion system has a thrust of up to 143
tons. The rocket uses a cluster of four engines each having a thrust of 32 tons
plus a control engine (*) with a thrust of 15 tons."
* meant are
the second stage engines
TEHRAN (ISNA)
-- At a ceremony attended by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the
country’s National Day of Aerospace Technology Toloo, Mesbah 2 and Navid were
unveiled. Toloo will be placed in low-earth orbit at about 500 kilometers above
the Earth and will be charged by solar cells and secondary batteries. Mesbah
2 is a telecommunication satellite and Navid is made by students that sends
photos to the Earth.
The new Simorgh satellite carrier could take satellites with 100 kilograms
weight at the height of 500 kilometers above the Earth. Also Simorgh satellite
carrier engine can put up to 700 kilograms at orbit 1,000 kilometers above the
Earth.
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TEHRAN, 2010, Aug. 05 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is working
on a three-stage rocket to carry a satellite 1,000 kilometres into space.
"Last time, we sent a satellite to 250 kilometres... Next year it will be sent
to 700 kilometres, and the year after that to 1,000 kilometres," he said.
TEHRAN, 2011, December 31 --
Iran delayed the promised long-range missile test (probably due to
technical problems at a Simorgh ? missile).
Iran's state media initially had reported that long-range missile had been launched
during naval exercises. But Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi later went
on the English language Press TV channel to deny the missile had in fact been
fired.
MOSCOW, 2012, January 03 -- Iran has no long-range missiles, a Russian defence
official said in Moscow’s first response to a series of tests conducted by Teheran
near the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran does not have the technology to create intermediate or long-range inter-continental
ballistic missiles,” defence ministry spokesman Vadim Koval told the Interfax
news agency. “And it will not get such missiles any time soon,” he added. (????)
TEHRAN, 2012, Febr. 14 -- Iran
will launch satellites with the Simorgh carrier from a new space port.
There would be a new round of space progression in Iran by 2013. The country
will launch Toloo and Fajr satellites and will improve its carriers by efforts
by experts in this regard.
The Simorgh satellite carrier which is capable of carrying satellites with 100
kg to 500 km orbit, possesses 4 engines and final tests are implemented on it.
The Toloo satellite built by Iran's electronic industry affiliated with defense
ministry will launched by Simorgh satellite carrier built by air and space industry
of defense ministry. The Simorgh launcher also will be capable to put satellites
into GTO orbits. Then thruster of satellite will put satellite into 36,000 km
GEO. The satellite carrier Simorgh is built soon.
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The mock-up of Iran's new space launch
vehicle Simorgh IRILV
The similarity to North Korea's Unha-2 is obvious. However, the model is deliberately
deformed
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Simorgh thrust frame
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It is suggested that the first stage of
the Simorgh has a diameter of 2.00 meters.
The presented engine with the thrust frame but suggests a diameter of 2.40 m.
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Analysis
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The presented
mock-up of the Simorgh IRILV is a joke. The dimensions are not real. In reality, the rocket already
exists. It is the North Korean Unha-2. It is suggested that the first stage
of the Simorgh has a diameter of 2.00 meters. The second stage has a diameter
of 1.25 meters. Multiplied by a factor of 1.2 would result diameters of 2.40
and 1.50 m, like as the Unha-2. The length of the tinkered first stage is
correctly. The length of the tinkered second stage not corresponds to the
Unha-2.
On a poster (right) are the exact dimensions of the stages written down:
Overall length: 25974 mm (not relevant because only summation of 17816 + 8158)
First stage diameter: 2.40 m
Second stage diameter: 1.50 m
First stage length: 17816 mm (meant is with adapter)
Second stage length: 8158 mm (meant is with engines)
First stage thrust: 142 tonnes (for future engines with UDMH/N2O4 fuel))
Second stage thrust: 7.2 tonnes (meant is one engine)
For driving the first stage of the Simorgh
will used a cluster of four Nodong engines, like the Unha-2.
For the second stage of Simorgh will used two new small engines.
The thrust of this engines is total 141 kN (vac), like the second stage
of the Unha-2. The two-stage Simorgh rocket is total approximately 26.7 m
long.
It is obvious that Iran producing the Simorgh SC under license of North Korea.
It would be hardly possible that Iran can develop in 2-3 years a new space
launch vehicle for deployment. Already in 2012 the first launch has been announced.
Strange thing is that still no
launch site
exist. Is the rocket hidden in a silo?
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My assumption
North Korea is definitely in possession of Long Range Missiles of
the type Unha-2. On the parade in 2010, October 10, presented so-called
"Musudan" missile is in reality an upper stage of the Unha-2. Apparently
there is already an arsenal of different stages of this LRBM, but only
tested separately because "long range" tests are not known. The first stage
of the Unha-2 was previously shown only one time during the launch of a
qualified SLV. Presumably, the launch was the first and also successful
test of the 1th and 2nd stages in combination.
Iran is the beneficiary from the development of the Unha-2. Its Simorgh
SC is the equivalent of the Unha-2. Either Iran is building this missile
under license or buy it. Reports on the delivery of the "Musudan" (which
not exist in the reality) to Iran would mean that the Unha-2 was already
delivered several times in segments. Iran has thus also have a functional
potential of an LRBM, but it must the acid test still exist.
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Iran's Medium
+ Long Range Missile arsenal
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Cluster of four Nodong engines
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Safir second stage engine (left) and probably
Simorgh new second stage engine (right)
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Sample calculation Simorgh SC
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Stage
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Engine
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Thrust s.l.
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Isp s.l.
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Thrust vac
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Isp vac
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Propellant
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Burn time
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Flow rate
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Total Imp
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-
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-
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kN
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N*s/kg
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kN
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N*s/kg
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tons
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s
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t/s
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MN*s
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1
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Nodong
(4) |
1,137.6 |
2422 |
1,255.2 |
2672 |
UDMH/AK-27 |
63.41 |
135 |
0.4697 |
169.4 |
| 2 |
LRE-15 (2) |
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141.2 |
2746 |
UDMH/AK-27 |
15.43 |
300 |
0.0514 |
42.4 |
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Simorgh main
page
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