ran managed to sneak in the last rocket launch attempt of 2021, a Simorgh rocket carrying a trio of satellites, which appears to have come close to orbital velocity, but not close enough to stay in orbit. And based on recent events in the country it’s very likely that this is just the first of many as newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi has publicly stated he wants to reinvigorate the country’s space programs. This comes in marked contrast to the much more low profile space launch activities under Hassan Rouhani who had been much more careful about international relations.I say space programs because Iran has 2 independent groups working on developing space launch vehicles, the Iranian Space Agency and the Revolutionary Guard have both launched satellites with vehicles of their own design, although there is a great deal of commonality with the country’s ballistic missile capabilities.