A Soyuz rocket successfully blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Sunday

A Russian Soyuz-2.1b rocket has successfully launched 52 satellites into orbit, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos reported on Sunday. The payload included three Iranian remote-sensing satellites.

The three-stage rocket, also carrying two Russian Aist-2T satellites, blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the country’s Far East and was broadcast live.

Vahid Yazdanian, head of the Iranian Space Research Institute, told IRNA that their low-orbit observation satellites will take images that can be used in agriculture, water resources management, and environmental protection.

The joint Russian-Iranian initiative is part of a growing civil space cooperation program between the two countries.

Moscow and Tehran signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in early 2025, which encompasses space and peaceful energy, science and technology collaboration.