TEHRAN – Three Iranian universities have been working on manufacturing cubeSats for three months, the head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) announced in a meeting on Monday.

Morteza Barari did not mention the name of universities but said that the ISA has signed three separate agreements with the universities.

CubeSats are miniature satellites that have been used exclusively in low Earth orbit for 15 years, and are now being used for interplanetary missions as well. There are commonly used in low Earth orbit for applications such as remote sensing or communications. 

The universities has a great role in development of space industry and space ecosystem in Iran, he said.

He pointed to the important role of Iran in joint projects by Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), APSCO projects like Small Student Satellite (SSS) in recent years.

During the event, he emphasized the need to pay more attention to the important role of space industry in management and controlling of natural disasters.

“Drought and dust as well as water management are some of natural disasters, which can be controlled by remote sensing satellites,” he said.

SB/MQ/MG