The Iranian-made satellites, Kowsar and Hodhod, were successfully put into orbit by a Russian Soyuz-2.1 spacecraft.

A Russian rocket carrying a payload of satellites into orbit – including two Iranian ones – has successfully lifted off, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said, a move seen as reflecting growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

The Soyuz-2.1 spacecraft lifted off as planned from the launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome in far-eastern Russia and placed its payload into a designated orbit nine minutes after launch on Tuesday.

Roscosmos said two Russian Ionosfera-M satellites – designed to monitor space weather around Earth – and 53 small satellites, including two Iranian ones, had been successfully put into orbit.

Among the 53 small satellites, the two Iranian satellites were identified as Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite. A Russian-Chinese student satellite, Druzhba ATURK, was also put into orbit.

The Iranian satellites are the first launched on behalf of the country’s private sector, with the Kowsar being manufactured by the Omidfaza company, which began designing the satellite in 2019, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

The Kowsar has an expected lifespan of three years and the Hodhod is expected to operate for four years, according to IRNA.

Successful launch of Iranian satellites Kowsar and Hodhod pic.twitter.com/OQki7GrrUD

– IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) November 5, 2024

In 2022, a Russian rocket launched an Iranian Earth observation satellite called Khayyam, built in Russia at Tehran’s request. Russia orbited another Iranian satellite named Pars-1 in February.

Pars-1 is a research satellite that will scan Iran’s topography from its orbit, Iranian state media reported at the time.

The latest satellite launch comes as Russia and Iran expand relations in various areas and amid growing criticism from Ukraine and the West that Tehran has supplied Moscow with drones intended to attacks against Ukrainian targets.

Moscow and Tehran also plan to further strengthen their ties through a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, which is expected to be signed during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s planned visit to Russia, the date of which has not yet been confirmed.

The Russian satellite launches follow a series of launch failures suffered by Iran’s civilian space program in recent years, including five consecutive failures for the Simorgh program, a satellite carrier rocket.

A separate Iranian space program, run by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, has seen successful launches from a military base outside Shahroud, located east of the capital, Tehran.

Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press show that Israel may have bombed the site during its attack on Iran on October 26.

Iran said at the time that the Israeli attack caused minimal damage.