A Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage lifted off at 08:54 Moscow time (09:24 Tehran time) from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
The mission included 20 satellites, including Iran’s Nahid-2 on board.
Nahid-2, developed by the Iranian Space Agency, is a telecommunications satellite intended to enhance Iran’s space communication capabilities.
The other payloads included two Ionosfera-M satellites, designed to study physical phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere influenced by natural and human-made factors.
Additionally, 18 small satellites were deployed, 17 of which are Russian.
Among them were nine satellites developed by Russia’s Geoscan, tasked with Earth imaging, tracking maritime and aerial traffic, and conducting near-space research.
Some of the Russian satellites also serve educational and experimental purposes, focusing on satellite communication links and control systems in low-Earth orbit.
Roscosmos stated that the data from the Ionosfera-M mission will be used by Roshydromet in combination with ground-based observations.
These experiments aim to study the ionosphere’s reaction to atmospheric disturbances such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions.
The launch was broadcast live by Mir TV.