ISA puts constructing satellite sys. atop agenda: official

Hassan Salarieh, Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA), made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with an Iranian media outlet and pointed to the construction of a satellite similar to “Starlink”, adding that in order to build a satellite system similar to Starlink in the short term, “We need to form an international consortium to cooperate with the countries interested in doing this work, so that consultations have been done and “We will achieve it within the next few years.”

Earlier, it was announced that the Iranian Space Agency should build something similar to “Starlink” for the country, so, building such a system is time-consuming, costly and difficult, Salarieh added.

He went on to say that the ISA has formulated a comprehensive plan for the building of satellite systems in a way that the Agency will throw its weight behind the setting up knowledge-based companies in the field in line with turning them into a consortium gradually and then manufacture small-scale telecommunications satellites (up to 300 kg).

In this regard, feasibility studies have been conducted and it is hoped that knowledge-based companies will diligently cooperate and collaborate with ISA in order to implement the aforementioned giant project.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Salarieh pointed to the setting up the mentioned consortium and added that with the formation of this consortium, a platform will be designed jointly and it will turn into a system, so that the formation of this system can be a rival for “Starlink” system.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 40 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023. SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019.

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