Iran's Space Organization Expresses Readiness to Establish Relations with NASA

The head of Iran's Space Organization stated that the "volume of interactions" between this organization and others around the world has "increased," and it is ready to establish a relationship with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Mohsen Bahrami added that cooperation and interaction between the two sides would only be possible if the leaders of both countries reach an agreement on it. Bahrami spoke on October 5 at the beginning of "World Space Week" during a press conference. World Space Week is a week that begins on October 4 and is included in the national calendars of some countries, including those in Asia and Europe. According to the United Nations, the purpose of this week is to celebrate technology and knowledge globally and their impact on improving human living conditions. According to the Associated Press, Mohsen Bahrami, head of Iran's Space Organization, which operates under the Iranian Ministry of Communications, said, "Many people around the world look at NASA's programs. Naturally, we are interested in cooperating with them. In space, there are no countries or races." This is the first time since Iran and six world powers reached an agreement on the nuclear program that a senior space official has expressed interest in connecting with NASA. Bahrami stated that this potential cooperation would only be possible if the leaders of both countries agree on it. The information portal of Iran's Space Organization also referred to Iran's "readiness" to establish relations with NASA, but no further details were provided by its head. According to this portal, Mohsen Bahrami also mentioned negotiations with operators such as "Eutelsat," "Intelsat," "Sputnik," and "AsiaSat," adding that "after negotiating with these operators and signing the first contract, we intend to purchase one remote sensing satellite and one communications satellite." Eutelsat is a French satellite company. Intelsat is the largest provider of satellite communication services, encompassing 11 countries, with its headquarters in Luxembourg. Sputnik is Russian, and AsiaSat is based in Hong Kong. Remote sensing satellites are used for monitoring and observing land, water, and the Earth's atmosphere. Communications satellites are used for transmitting images, data, and messages and cover parts of the Earth's surface continuously. Mohsen Bahrami stated that the purchased satellites would be "controlled domestically" and that "their ownership would also be in Iran's hands." In another part of his remarks, he mentioned the launch of the "Misbah" satellite, stating that "its construction began 12 years ago," but "no decision has been made regarding its launch." This government official indicated that the Misbah project faced "launch problems" during sanctions. Last year, Abdolreza Samimi, the deputy for technology development at Iran's Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, stated that this "is the only practical and real satellite" of Iran, which is grounded due to the lack of a launch vehicle. Officials from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government had promised that Italy would launch this satellite into space. However, the Italian company involved in the construction of Misbah denied these claims.