Salman (rocket motor)

The Salman (Persian: سلمان) is a solid-propellant rocket motor designed and built by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.^[1][2] It is used as the second stage of the Qased and Qaem-100 satellite launch vehicles.^[1][3] The system was announced on 9 February 2020^[4] and was launched for the first time on 22 April 2020, placing Iran's first military satellite, named Noor, into orbit.^[1][5]

Salman upper-stage

Manufacturer	IRGCASF
Country of origin	Iran
Used on	Qased Qaem-100
General characteristics
Diameter	1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Gross mass	1,900 kg (4,200 lb)
Associated stages
Comparable	Star 48 , Castor 30
Launch history
Status	Active
Total launches	5
Successes (stage only)	5
Failed	0
First flight	22 April 2020
Salman upper-stage
Burn time	60 seconds
Propellant	Solid

Design

Salman weighs 1,900 kilograms, has a diameter of 1 meter, and fires for 60 seconds. In contrast to previous Iranian commercial and military rocket designs, Salman has a wound carbon-fiber composite casing rather than the traditional steel motor casings typical of other Iranian designs, this drastically reduces weight and improves performance, allowing for more payload capacity.

Another break with past Iranian designs is the first ever use of gimballed thrust vector control (TVC) for steering as opposed to aerodynamic control surfaces, jet vanes, or vernier thrusters previously used.^[5][6][7] A steerable nozzle provides several advantages to Salman as opposed to other methods that result in its superior performance and efficiency; as opposed to jet vanes, no thrust is lost in a gimballed system when steering; control surfaces only work in endo-atmospheric flight and cannot be used for injecting satellites or atmospheric re-entry; vernier thrusters and their associated piping, turbopumps and tanks are heavy and their omission could make way for a larger payload.^[8]

Launch history

Flight No.	Date	Rocket	Payload	Outcome	Remarks
1	22 April 2020	Qased	Noor 1	Success	Iran's first military reconnaissance satellite[9]
2	8 March 2022	Qased	Noor 2	Success
3	5 November 2022[10]	Qaem-100	Unknown	Success	Suborbital test flight
4	4 March 2023[11]	Qaem-100	Nahid-1	Failure
5	27 September 2023[12]	Qased	Noor 3	Success
6	20 January 2024	Qaem-100	Soraya	Success

See also

• Qased (rocket)
• Qaem-100 (rocket)
• IRGC Aerospace Force
• Noor (satellite)
• List of upper-stages
• Iranian Space Agency

References

1. Sheldon, John (12 May 2020). "#SpaceWatchGL Perspectives On Iran's Satellite Launch: Fabian Hinz On The Qased Satellite Launch Vehicle". SpaceWatch.Global. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
2. "رفع گلوگاه پرتاب ماهواره با موتورهای فضایی سوخت جامد" [Elimination of Satellite Launch Bottlenecks with Solid-Fuel Space Engines]. ایرنا (in Persian). Islamic Republic News Agency. 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
3. "سردار جعفرآبادی در گفتگو با العالم: قائم 100، ماهواره با وزن 80 کیلو را قادر است در مدار قرار دهد/ تداوم توسعه ماهواره‌بر قائم تا قرارگیری ماهواره با وزن 500 کیلو در مدار/ قادریم ماهواره‌های بزرگتری به مدارهای بالاتر حمل کنیم" [Sardar Jafarabadi in an interview with Al-Alam: Qaem 100 satellite, weighing 80 kilograms, is capable of being placed in orbit / Continuation of the development of the Qaem satellite launcher until a 500-kilogram satellite is placed in orbit / We are capable of transporting larger satellites to higher orbits.]. fa.alalam.ir (in Persian). 5 November 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
4. "Iran unveils ballistic missile, 'new generation' engines". The Times of Israel. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021 – via Agence France-Presse.
5. Brügge, Norbert (25 August 2020). "What are the dimensions of the new Iranian Salman TVC solid-fuel rocket motor". b14643.de. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
6. Hinz, Fabian (14 February 2020). "Iran's solid-propellant SLV program is alive and kicking". armscontrolwonk.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
7. Elleman, Michael; Rouhi, Mahsa (1 May 2020). "The IRGC gets into the space-launch business". International Institute for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
8. "گزارش تسنیم از موتور فضایی "سلمان"|درگیری با اهداف مهاجم خارج از جو زمین/ گام مهم سپاه برای ساخت سلاح ضدماهواره جاسوسی- اخبار نظامی | دف - اخبار سیاسی تسنیم | Tasnim" [Tasnim Report on the "Salman" Space Engine | Engagement with Invading Targets Outside Earth's Atmosphere / Important Step by the Revolutionary Guard in Building Anti-Spy Satellite Weapons]. خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
9. "Iran launches its first military satellite". Al Jazeera. 22 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
10. "Iran test launches new satellite-carrying rocket". Al Jazeera. 5 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
11. Krzyzaniak, John [@john_krzyzaniak] (12 July 2023). "Here is the letter from Israel's representative to the UN, referenced above. On March 4, the IRGC launched a Ghaem-100 from Shahrud carrying the Nahid satellite" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023 – via Twitter.
12. "Iran says it launched Noor 3 satellite into orbit". Reuters. 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.