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|
Official logo of ISRC | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 January 2000 |
| Jurisdiction | Ministry of Information and Communications Technology of Iran |
| Headquarters | Tehran |
| Annual budget | $67,000,000 (2014)[1] $128,000,000(2023)[2] |
| Website | www.isrc.ac.ir |
The Iranian Space Research Center (ISRC, Persian: پژوهشگاه فضایی ایران, romanized: Pazhoheshgah e Fazái e Irán) is a research center and institute established by Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology in 2000 to perform research in the field of space and manufacture Iranian civil satellites and space rockets. In 2010, the administration was transferred to the office of president. Then, it again transferred to its primary ministry. On 13 March 2026, during the 2026 Iran war, the ISRC headquarters in central Tehran was struck by Israel.
The ISRC and Iranian Space Agency are the main organizations driving space research and operations in Iran. The ISRC provides educational resources in the discipline of space sciences, designed for high-achieving postgraduate and doctoral scholars, adhering to criteria and international educational principles set by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology:[3]
Identification of standards used in the designing, manufacturing and testing of space equipment
Furthermore, more than 500 completed and 156 ongoing research projects are being carried out currently, entitled:
On 12 September 2018, the US Treasury Department announced in a statement that it has added the names of the Space Organization, the Space Research Center and the Space Research Institute of Iran to the list of sanctions Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the entities under this ministry. This research and educational institute is currently under the sanctions of the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.[5][6]
By order of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Hassan Salarieh was appointed as the head of the Iranian Space Research Institute, while maintaining his position.[7][8]
During the 2026 Iran war, the Israeli Air Force attacked the ISRC in central Tehran and completely destroyed it, claiming that it was being used for 'potential' space warfare activities against Israeli satellites.[9]
The Iranian Space Research Institute has 5 research institutes, including two system research institutes called Satellite Systems and Space Transportation Systems in Tehran, three research institutes in provincial centers called Space Propulsion, Mechanics, and Materials and Energy in Tabriz, Shiraz, and Isfahan, respectively, and one research center.
Among the activities of the Iranian Space Research Institute:
And other activities.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
This research institute has been active in various scientific and technical fields since 1983, implementing various applied projects in line with national needs, and was transferred to the Iranian Space Organization in 2010. The Space Transportation Systems Research Institute is currently one of the system research institutes of the Iranian Space Research Institute.
The Space Research Institute at the Iranian Space Organization was established in 2007 with the permission of the Higher Education Development Council to meet some of the country's research needs in the field of space technologies, and is now operating under the title of the Satellite Systems Research Institute at the Iranian Space Research Institute. The main tasks of this research institute are to implement research, application, and development projects in space science and technology, and to study, design, and build measurement and communication satellites.
In order to achieve self-sufficiency and independence of the country and the necessity of resolving technical and engineering problems, the potential and favorable fields such as the existence of universities, factories, industrial companies and potential and actual facilities in East Azerbaijan province, the Engineering Research Center in East Azerbaijan began its activities in 1985. This center was promoted to the Iranian Space Research Institute as the Space Propulsion Research Institute and continues its activities.
The Materials and Energy Research Institute is one of the research institutes of the Iranian Space Research Institute located in Isfahan. The mission areas of this research institute are in materials and manufacturing and shaping technologies, energy generators, detectors and special machinery and equipment.[16]
The Mechanical Research Institute was established in Shiraz in 1986 with the aim of meeting some of the technical and engineering needs of the country's industries and providing services to these sectors. Then, in 1990, it was upgraded to a research institute by transferring to the Iranian Space Organization and is now one of the three provincial research institutes affiliated with the Iranian Space Research Institute.