Omid (Test payload?)

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• On Aug 17 the Fars news agency reported the launch of the Omid ('Hope') satellite from Iran. The BBC reports the name as 'Safir-e Omid' ('Envoy of hope'). However, other reports indicate that this was either a suborbital test or a launch of a dummy satellite, and that the Omid satellite was not aboard. Launch was at 1932 UTC Aug 16 and the second stage failed catastrophically at 152 km. Launch was from the site south of Semnan in the northern part of the Dasht-e-Kavir desert.
• Previous reports of Iranian space activity have been mangled by poor translation. There is not sure whether this was only a suborbital test launch of a prototype satellite launch vehicle, or was a failed orbital attempt. It is also unclear whether the orbital version has two or three stages; a Feb 2008 AP report suggests 3 stages and this is more plausible. In any case, it does now seem clear that no satellite reached orbit on this try.
• The launch vehicle is probably derived from the Shahab-3 missile, which in turn is descended from the North Korean Nodong. A mockup of the vehicle shown earlier this year had the words 'SAFIR IRILV' on the side in the Roman alphabet. 'Safir' means 'envoy' or 'emissary', and IRILV presumably stands for Islamic Republic of Iran Launch Vehicle. The Al Alam (Tehran) news channel's web site "alalam.ir" reports that 'Safir Omid' is 22m long and 1.25m in diameter with a (launch) mass of 26t. Most analysts seem to have concluded that 'Safir' is the name of the rocket and 'Omid' of the proposed payload.