Noor (satellite)

Noor is a series of small Iranian military imaging satellites operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Noor 1, also transliterated Nour 1, was the first indigenous Iranian military satellite and was launched on 22 April 2020 on the maiden flight of the Qased launch vehicle from the Shahroud site. A second satellite followed on 8 March 2022 and a third on 27 September 2023. Each is built to the 6U CubeSat form factor with solar cells and batteries and has a mass of about 15 kilograms. According to an interview with the commander of the Guard Air Force Space Command, the satellite has an imaging mission. Published orbits for the three launches lie at roughly 430 to 510 kilometers altitude at inclinations near 58 to 60 degrees. Few other technical details are public, and the contractors and satellite lifetimes are not stated in the source.