Iranian Space Agency

Also Known As: 

ISA
Iranian Space Organization
سازمان فضایی ایران

Weapon Program: 

  • Missile
  • Military

Address: 

No 57/2, Saie st, Vali e asr st, Tehran, Iran
No. 34, Saayeh Street, Africa Blvd, Tehran 1967734114, Iran
Imam Khomeini Boulevard (Eram), After Payam Airport, Mahdasht Center Road, Karaj, Iran

Phone: 

+98 21 220 29100

Fax: 

+98 21 220 29100

E-Mail: 

Entity Web Site: 

www.isa.ir
www.omid-sat.ir

Iranian Space Agency logo

Oversees Iran's space-related initiatives; carries out plans and programs approved by the Supreme Space Council; affiliated with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

Develops space launch vehicle (SLV) technologies, which have applications in ballistic missile development; develops communication and remote sensing satellites; and proposes space sector plans and policies to the relevant authorities.

Reportedly cooperates with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGC-ASF) and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) on satellite launches; has launched rockets built by the Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO); has launched satellites built by Iran Electronics Industries (IEI); has worked with U.N.-sanctioned Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), which is responsible for Iran's liquid-fueled ballistic missile program.

Subordinate entities include the Aerospace Research Institute (ARI) and the Iran Space Research Center (ISRC).

Oversees Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is used for satellite launches and where Iran has reportedly tested SLVs including:

  • Safir, a two-stage rocket with a liquid-fueled booster
  • Simorgh, a two-stage rocket with a liquid-fueled booster
  • Zuljanah, a three-stage rocket with a solid-fueled booster

Operates the Mahdasht Space Center, also called the Alborz Space Center, whose facilities include a remote-sensing laboratory; oversees a rocket launch site near Qom; will reportedly oversee a future space launch site at Chabahar.

Owns the Khayyam satellite built and launched by Russia in 2022; reportedly designed the satellite in partnership with Russia-based companies NPK Barl and VNII Electromekhaniki and Iran-based company Bonyan Danesh Shargh; reportedly partners with Bonyan Danesh Shargh to carry out in-orbit operations of the satellite.

In 2009, successfully launched Iran's first domestic communication satellite, Omid, aboard the Safir-2 SLV; in 2008, reportedly collaborated with China and Thailand on the Environment-1 satellite, launched aboard a Chinese rocket and used for monitoring natural disasters.

Has reportedly worked on satellite design in cooperation with Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST); reportedly signed an agreement with Amirkabir University of Technology and the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology to develop a rocket capable of carrying a living creature into space; reportedly cooperated with Amirkabir University to develop the Nahid satellite and a satellite for earth observation and the evaluation of agricultural products, known as the "AUT SAT."

In 2018, co-hosted a conference on space law in collaboration with Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), ARI, and the United Nations Information Center; in 2017, reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding on scientific cooperation with the Armed Forces Geographical Organization.

A member of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Headed by Hassan Salarieh, who also serves as Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technology as well as supervisor of the ISRC; other personnel have included Morteza Barari (president) and Reza Taghipour (president).

Established in 2003.

Sanctions

Designated by the U.S. Department of State on September 3, 2019, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; added on September 3, 2019 to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382; also subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations; foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity are subject to U.S. sanctions.

Sanctioned on July 22, 2010, by the government of Canada for involvement in Iran’s proliferation activities or affiliation with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), prohibiting (with some exceptions) its access to goods, funds, and related services in Canada.

Mentioned Suspect Entities & Suppliers: 

Date Entered: 

August 31, 2009

Date Last Modified: 

April 25, 2023