Early Tuesday, Russia launched a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, carrying several satellites, including two Iranian ones.
According to the Roscosmos space agency, the mission’s primary payload consisted of two Ionosfera-M satellites to enhance the space system that monitors Earth’s ionosphere.
NASA reports that the ionosphere, a crucial layer where Earth’s atmosphere intersects with space, extends from approximately 50 to 400 miles above the surface. Each Ionosfera-M satellite operates at an altitude of 820 km and weighs 430 kg.
This launch also included 53 smaller satellites. Among these were the Iranian Kowsar, designed for high-resolution imaging, and the Hodhod, a communications satellite. Additionally, the launch featured the Druzhba ATURK, the inaugural Russian-Chinese student satellite.
This follows Russia’s February launch of an Iranian research satellite tasked with scanning Iran’s topography from orbit. Roscosmos plans to complete the Ionosfera-M satellite quartet with two further launches scheduled for 2025.
