Al-Ta'ir (satellite)

Al-Ta'ir-1
Image of Al-Ta'ir-1
Mission typeCommunications and navigation
OperatorSpace Research Centre of Iraq
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerMinistry of Industry and Military Industrialisation (Iraq)
Launch mass75 kg
Dry mass300 kg
Power0.2 kilowatts
Orbital parameters
Altitude350-400 km
Transponders
BandVHF/UHF

The Al-Ta'ir (Arabic: الطائر) satellite was an Iraqi small experimental satellite program designed for conducting communication and rangefinding. It started in the 1980s under the leadership of Saddam Hussein and was to be put in LEO with the help of an Ariane 4 or al-Abid vehicle; however, after the Gulf War, Iraq could not obtain such vehicles and could only develop the satellite.