TEHRAN - The “Jaam-e-Jam 1” satellite belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting Organization (IRIB) has been successfully launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport in the Kazakh city of Baikonur.

Registered internationally under the name Iran DBS, Jaam-e-Jam 1 is Iran’s first geosynchronous satellite and is slated to provide the necessary infrastructure for interactive public broadcast.

A geosynchronous satellite is a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, with an orbital period the same as the Earth's rotation period. Such a satellite returns to the same position in the sky after each sidereal day, and over the course of a day traces out a path in the sky that is typically some form of analemma. 

The telecommunications Jaam-e-Jam 1 satellite is regarded as a strategic step towards the development of the IRIB’s technical infrastructure. It was placed into the Earth’s orbit by the satellite-carrying Proton-M rocket along with a Russian weather satellite.

As scheduled, the satellite is to be transferred to and stabilized in its final orbital position (34° East), providing good coverage span for the IRIB’s communications.

This comes as Iran has made great strides in the space industry and satellite technology in recent years.

Recently, the head of the Iranian Space Agency announced the aviation body would soon unveil its first radar satellite. “Radar satellites, 'Raad 1’ and ‘Raad 2’ families, are being designed and manufactured,” said Hassan Salarieh.

“The Raad 1 satellite is a radar satellite of the SAR type with a resolution of better than 50 meters. This satellite is not in the integration phase as it is going through its final stages and, God willing, will soon be unveiled,” he explained.

The agency’s chief further said the Raad 2 satellite, with an imaging resolution of more than 20 meters, is being developed and will hopefully be unveiled in the coming years.

He said the most important advantage of radar satellites is that they are capable of recording images in spectrums and wavelengths other than visible ones.

That means these kinds of satellites can easily do imaging operations irrespective of climatic conditions, dust and particulates, or cloudy weather.
“Imaging would be possible even in regions covered with snow and the like,” he explained.

In early January 2026, Iran announced the successful orbital deployment and initial testing of three new satellites. According to the national space agency, the Zafar, Paya, and Kowsar satellites were in a multi-week orbital testing phase, having completed their first series of in-orbit checks with an overall favorable technical status.

The agency reported that the evaluation and stabilization of the satellites' subsystems were proceeding as planned. While all three entered subsystem performance reviews with satisfactory conditions, the Paya satellite required special attention due to an issue during its orbital injection by the launch vehicle.
Precise corrective measures were taken to resolve the issue.