Tehran: The first signals from three domestically built satellites, Zafar-2, Paya, and Kowsar, were successfully received following their launch on Sunday evening, the minister of information and communications technology has announced. Sattar Hashemi stated that the successful reception of these initial signals confirms the satellites’ ‘technical health and proper performance after being placed in orbit.’

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, the signals were received at multiple facilities, including the Mahdasht Satellite Control Center, the Qeshm station, and the SAIRAN control center. The simultaneous reception of signals from several control centers demonstrates the stability of communications and the correct functioning of the satellites’ telecommunications systems, Hashemi noted.

Emphasizing the importance of the achievement, the minister pointed out that receiving the first signals is the ‘first key step after satellite launch.’ This success provides the necessary groundwork for continued technical monitoring, orbital stabilization, and the start of the next phases of the satellites’ planned missions.

Earlier on Sunday, Iran launched the three domestically built satellites into space from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket. Vahid Yazdanian, Iran’s deputy communications minister and head of the Iranian Space Research Institute, mentioned that the three Earth observation satellites were built by the private sector and will operate at an altitude of about 500 kilometers above Earth, in what is known as low Earth orbit (LEO).