The national observatory of Iran: History, approval, progress, and its role in scientific development

Iran's national observatory is one of the macro plans, which many universities, companies and institutions have participated in its execution and implementation. This paper tries to examine the ups and downs of defining and implementing this grand project in a country that on the one hand tends to domestic and international scientific participation and on the other suffers from many non-academic interventions and obstacles in carrying out such plans.  This paper, after discussing the historicity of the formation of this plan and analyzing its motives, focuses on the long process of objectifying the said plan. The social history of macro scientific plans helps us in making policies in this domain and correcting processes and strengthening drivers. With the transformation of "National Observatory Plan" into "National Observatory of Iran", it is necessary to take into account issues including global vision and supervision on the macro scientific plan by the stakeholders in the policy of managing the construction of scientific equipment, for the development of science and technology in the country.