| Omid | |
| Operator: | ISA |
| Cospar Id: | 2009-004A |
| Satcat: | 33506 |
| Launch Mass: | 26kg (57lb) |
| Launch Site: | Semnan |
| Decay Date: | 25 April 2009 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 2 February 2009, 13:34:00 UTC[1] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Eccentricity: | 0 |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 258km (160miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 364.8km (226.7miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 55.5 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 90.7 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Omid (fa|امید, meaning "Hope")[2] was Iran's first domestically made satellite.[3] [4] Omid was a data-processing satellite for research and telecommunications; Iran's state television reported that it was successfully launched on 2 February 2009.[4] [5] [6] After being launched by an Iranian-made carrier rocket, Safir 1, the satellite was placed into a low Earth orbit. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supervised the launch, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution; NASA verified the launch's success the following day.[7] [8] Its Satellite Catalog Number or USSPACECOM object number is 33506.
Ahmadinejad said the satellite was launched to spread "tawhid, peace and justice" in the world.[9] The Tehran Times reported that "Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications."[10] Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran launched the satellite to "meet the needs of the country" and that it was "purely for peaceful purposes".[9] Since there was very little encryption on the satellite, data could be collected and read by citizens.[11]
Omid had the shape of a 40cm (20inches) cube with mass of 27kg (60lb). Sources in the Iranian Space Agency say the satellite's sole payload was a store and forward telecommunication capability.
The launch of Omid makes Iran the ninth country to develop an indigenous satellite launch capability.[12] [13]
Omid was the second Iranian satellite to be placed into orbit. A previous Iranian satellite, Sina-1, was built and launched for Iran by Russia in 2005.[14] [15]
Speaking at the opening of a new space centre on 4 February 2008, President Ahmadinejad announced that Omid would be launched in "the near future".[16] On 17 August 2008, Iranian officials reported that they performed a test of the satellite carrier; they broadcast footage of the Safir rocket launch in darkness.[17]
According to an American official, "The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position."[18]
The satellite was launched southeast over the Indian Ocean to avoid overflying neighboring countries and was placed into an orbit with an inclination of 55.5 degrees,[19] with a perigee of 246 km, an apogee of 377 km, and a period of 90.76 minutes.[20]
Omid was reported to have completed its mission without any problems. It completed more than 700 orbits over seven weeks.[21] According to U.S. Strategic Command, the Omid satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 25 April 2009, during an 8-hour window centered on 0342 UT. The most likely re-entry location was over the south Atlantic Ocean, east of Buenos Aires, Argentina. No sightings were reported.[22] The rocket body from the launch, which had also entered orbit, re-entered the atmosphere 31 May 2009.[23]
Iran launched Rasad 1 on 15 June 2011; it orbited for three weeks.
