Iran marks historic milestones in space industry, expands indigenous satellite capabilities

tehrantimes.com Oct 5, 2026

Iran marks historic milestones in space industry, expands indigenous satellite capabilities

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 5, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Iran’s space program has recorded several firsts in the past two years, according to Hassan Salarieh, head of the Iranian Space Agency, during a Space Week ceremony at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. The nation launched Nahid‑2, its inaugural domestically built telecommunications satellite, and successfully tested it in orbit. Indigenous launch vehicles Qaem‑100 and Simorgh demonstrated the ability to place home‑grown payloads aloft. The Chamran mission achieved Iran’s first orbital proximity maneuver and validated new attitude‑control algorithms. Remote‑sensing capacity is expanding with the Paya satellite already in orbit and the upgraded Pars‑2, offering sub‑three‑meter resolution, awaiting launch. Salarieh credited coordinated efforts among the defense ministry, ICT ministry, universities, research centers and a growing private‑sector space ecosystem for these milestones.

💡 Why It Matters

· Iran’s demonstrated ability to build, launch and maneuver its own satellites marks a leap toward strategic autonomy in space, reshaping regional technological balances.

Capsules Space

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Gaganyaan Mission Gathers Pace At ISRO’s VSSC; India Targets First Space Station…

Preparations for India’s inaugural crewed flight, Gaganyaan, have accelerated at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Thiruvananthapuram, where engineers are finalising the crew module, vehicle design and a Crew Module Safety System intended to protect astronauts during launch emergencies. ISRO officials say the programme will unfold in phases, with unmanned test flights slated for 2027 and a crewed mission by 2028, forming a stepping‑stone toward a lunar landing. Concurrently, work on the Bhartiya Antariksha Station (BAS) progresses, with its first module targeted for launch in 2028 and operational status envisioned by 2035. The expanded Gaganyaan plan, approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024, underscores India’s drive for indigenous launch capability and long‑duration human‑spaceflight, aligning with Space Vision 2047.

💡 By fielding its own crewed launch and modular space station, India becomes the only emerging space power with a complete domestic human‑spaceflight pathway, fast‑tracking its lunar exploration goals.

muscatdaily.com · Oct 4

Oman space conference 2026 opens in Muscat

The Oman Space Conference 2026 opened on Sunday at the InterCity Hotel Muscat, hosting roughly 70 delegates from government, academia, industry, and space institutions. Organized by SpaceTech in Gulf in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, the event focused on Oman’s National Space Policy, the Executive Programme, and their alignment with Vision 2040. Discussions highlighted Earth‑observation applications to enhance agriculture, environmental monitoring, and marine services, while stressing capacity building, local technology development, and public‑private collaboration. The agenda also addressed national security, policy advancement, and investment prospects in Oman’s emerging space economy.

💡 By aligning space initiatives with Vision 2040, Oman positions itself to harness satellite data for tangible socioeconomic gains, turning the country into a regional hub for space‑driven innovation.

fastcompany.com · Oct 4

Why tech companies are racing to put AI data centers in space

Tech giants are accelerating plans to locate AI data centers in orbit, citing solar power and superior cooling as solutions to the looming strain on Earth’s electricity grid. Analysts estimate that AI‑focused facilities could drive nearly half of U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030, prompting companies to explore space‑based alternatives where sunlight is up to eight times more intense than on the surface. Prototypes would transmit processed results to ground stations via laser or radio links. The concept gained endorsement after Jeff Bezos suggested space‑built data centers in a 2023 fireside chat, and Elon Musk later listed orbital computing among SpaceX’s priorities. In the test, Google lofted four Tensor Processing Units aboard a Planet Labs satellite to validate the approach.

💡 Space‑based AI farms could free future compute expansion from a strained terrestrial power grid, reshaping energy planning for the digital economy.

newindianexpress.com · Oct 4

Hyderabad space firms now in orbit

On October 2, Hyderabad‑based Dhruva Space and TakeMe2Space launched their spacecraft aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter‑18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Dhruva’s LEAP‑2, its second commercial mission under the LEAP program, deployed at 1 am IST, carrying a Sodern star tracker and SatLeo Labs’ TAPAS‑1 sensor. TakeMe2Space’s MOI‑1A, equipped with an Nvidia Orin NX computer and multispectral imager, followed. The launch also carried SatLeo Labs and EON Space Labs payloads. Dhruva now manages end‑to‑end mission delivery, while TakeMe2Space plans a six‑satellite constellation for global orbital computing by 2027.

💡 The successful deployment demonstrates India’s growing capability to integrate and launch complex payloads independently, reducing reliance on foreign launch services. It also signals a shift toward in‑orbit data processing, potentially transforming how Earth‑observation data is collected and used worldwide.

taipeitimes.com · Oct 4

Taiwan, UK sign science, tech pact for three projects

Taiwan and the United Kingdom signed the Taiwan‑UK Science, Innovation and Technology Arrangement (SITA) in London, formalizing cooperation in three key areas: satellite communications, silicon photonics, and semiconductor talent development. The agreement, signed by Taiwan’s Representative Vincent Yao and UK Representative Ruth Bradley‑Jones, will see joint R&D between the UK Space Agency and Taiwan Space Agency, a silicon photonics academic alliance backed by UK seed funding, and a skills initiative to exchange researchers and students. The pact institutionalizes collaboration, leveraging each country’s strengths to advance critical technology sectors.

💡 The partnership positions Taiwan and the UK as complementary players in high‑tech innovation, creating a pipeline for talent and research that could accelerate breakthroughs in satellite and semiconductor industries.

newskart.com · Oct 3

Poonawalla Investment Brings Fresh Focus to Optimized Solutions’ Defence and Space Plans

Yohan and Michelle Poonawalla invested in Ahmedabad‑based Optimized Solutions Ltd, a deep‑tech firm focused on defence, aerospace, and space technologies. The undisclosed capital infusion is intended to bolster the company’s research, manufacturing, and domestic technology development. Optimized Solutions specializes in artificial intelligence, radio‑frequency systems, embedded electronics, electro‑optics, and space‑related components, having supplied critical electronics to ISRO missions such as Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan. The partnership aims to accelerate India’s push for self‑reliance in defence and space hardware, enhancing the firm’s R&D, technical capabilities, and large‑scale production readiness.

💡 The investment injects much‑needed private capital into India’s nascent deep‑tech defence sector, enabling faster domestic production of critical systems and reducing reliance on imports.