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China to launch Pakistani communications satellite on August 14, 2011

jawadqamar

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I Hope this is right place for this thread

Pakistan will launch its first indigenously developed communications satellite on August 14, 2011, from a facility in China.

Speaking to Dawn, Dr Mohammad Riaz Suddle, the director of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission's (Suparco) satellite research and development centre in Lahore, said the satellite's life span will be 15 years.

Responding to a question, Dr Suddle said the satellite would be launched at a longitude of 38 degrees in geostationary orbit on the equatorial plane at an altitude of 36,000km above the Earth's surface.

Paksat-1R will carry a communications payload to facilitate the introduction of a range of new services, including broadband internet, digital TV distribution/broadcasting, remote/rural telephony, emergency communications, tele-education and tele-medicine.

The contract for Pakis- tan Communication Satellite (Paksat-1R) was signed between Suparco and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a Chinese firm, on October 15, 2008, in Beijing, during President Asif Zardari's visit to China.

Work on the execution of the contract began soon after, and is progressing as scheduled, according to Dr Suddle. He did not reveal the cost of the project, but said the contract involves various other projects, including infrastructure, and therefore it is difficult to put an exact cost on the satellite itself.

Responding to a question, he said that at least two new satellites - Paksat-1R and Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS) - would be launched in the near future.

The satellites have been developed with technical and financial assistance from China.

The project has been approved by the federal government as part of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), he said.

When quizzed on where the finances for the project were coming from, Dr Suddle said that efforts are under way to secure a long-term concessional loan from the Chinese government to finance a major part of the project.

Speaking about the status of Pakistan's space programme in comparison to that of other countries in the region, Dr Suddle asserted that Pakistan's space/satellite development programme "needs to make rapid and sustained progress to meet national needs. India has a very advanced space programme".

At present, Pakistan has a communications satellite, Paksat-1, in orbit, providing coverage across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the South Asian subcontinent. It is being used by TV broadcasters, telecom companies, data and broadband internet service providers and government organisations.

Paksat-1R will replace Paksat-1, a leased satellite, to ensure continuity of service.

In the 1990s, Pakistan also operated a small satellite, Badr-A, in low earth orbit. The country's modest space program, however, has been more oriented towards remote sensing applications.

Badr-A was Pakistan's first indigenously developed satellite and was launched from the Xichang Launch Centre in China on July 16, 1990 aboard a Chinese Long March 2E rocket. Badr-A weighed 150 pounds, and was inserted into an elliptical orbit of 127-615 miles by the rocket. The satellite successfully completed its design life.

Pakistan's second satellite, Badr-B, was an earth observation satellite and was launched on Dec 10, 2001, on a Zenit-2 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was designed by Space Innovations Limited, a UK-based company.

Paksat-1 was Pakistan's first geostationary satellite. It was originally known as Palapa C1, was launched in 1996 and had been designed to serve Indonesia. After an electronics failure, it was renamed Anatolia-1 and then renamed again to become Paksat-1 in 2002. It was originally manufactured by Boeing and uses the HS601 spacecraft design.

Suparco set about trying to replace Paksat-1 by signing a consultancy deal with Telesat in March 2007, under which the company will advise Pakistan on the purchase, manufacture and launch of Paksat-1R. Under the agreement, Telesat will help Suparco find a manufacturer and provide technical and commercial advice during the negotiations process. Telesat will also help to oversee the construction of the new satellite and will monitor the launch and provide in-orbit testing services.

Reports quoting credible sources said that Pakistan is also working on development of Satellite Launch Vehicles (SLVs), basing their assumption on Pakistan's success in developing intermediate range ballistic missiles.

Experts believe the missile technology will be used in any SLV. The Indian SLV-3/ASLV uses Agni ballistic missiles as first stage propulsion units and as boosters.

Suparco has already tested two high-altitude sounding rockets: Shahpar and Rakhnum. Shahpar is a seven metre solid fuel two-stage rocket that can carry a payload of 55 kilograms to an altitude of 450 kilometres. Rakhnum can lift a payload of 38kg to an altitude of 100km.

Although Dr Suddle says that Pakistan's new communication satellite would be launched on August 14, 2011, judging from Pakistan's progress in ballistic missile technology, analysts do not rule out the possibility that Suparco may just be waiting for the right moment to test Pakistan's first satellite launch vehicle.


In this context, they cite Dr A.Q. Khan's reported statement in March 2001, in which he had claimed that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first SLV and that the project had been assigned to Suparco.

According to reports published in March 2005, former president and retired general Pervez Musharraf had authorised renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability that would be able to put into orbit a domestically built satellite, Paksat-1R.
 
Wonder full it will be about time , no more depandance on stupid cables in oceans that anyone can cut when they want to shut down country's economy
 
you cannt launch ur satellites still u cliam that pak missile system are developed by pak............



sorry mate not logical even usa and ussr developed launch system first then missile or both at a time as both uses similar technology
 
you cannt launch ur satellites still u cliam that pak missile system are developed by pak............
Developing a ballistic missile capability before an SLV cpability indicates nothing about Pakistan's missile program, except for feverish Indian minds who cannot stomach Pakistan's accomplishments.

The majority of the funding and the focus was on developing a ballistic missile delivery system, and not on developing an SLV, so it is natural that the former was developed first.
 
From the above report & the below one, I am still unable to make out who makes what & who funds what. The above article says -

The satellites have been developed with technical and financial assistance from China.

So what is Pakistan's contribution to either, technology & finances? And the below one indicates that everything is made in China.

China to deliver telecom satellite to Pakistan - People's Daily Online

China will launch a telecommunication satellite, dubbed PakSat-1R, for Pakistan in 2011.

The satellite's chief contractor -- China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) -- said on Thursday that a Long March 3B rocket will be used to put the satellite into orbit.

It will launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province.

The company said ground control facilities for the satellite will be delivered to the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission after it enters orbit.

CGWIC and its sub-contractors are responsible for the design, manufacturing, final assembly, testing and launch of the satellite.

It will have a life span of 15 years.

Pakistan will use it for domestic telecommunication and broadcast services. (PeacefulIndian - Note the word 'USE'.)

Contracts for the satellite deal were sealed Wednesday in the presence of presidents from both countries. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was in Beijing for his first state visit since taking office in September.

This is the third time China has delivered a satellite to another country. In 2007, two satellites were sent to Nigeria. (PeacefulIndian - means both, satellite & the rocket will be delivered to Pakistan. )

Source:Xinhua
 
Its very easy to convert a thread into India - Pakistan thread.....lets not do that here...

developing a communication satalite is an excellent step towards improving Pakistans self reliance in communication.....


congrats ....
 
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Finally im pleased to know that we wont lose our satellite slot then and we made it ourselves! :tup:
 
what are the future ambitions of Pakistan in this sector?

I mean Sattelite launch? after? SLV? after what?

Sorry i do not possess enough knowledge about space technology.... will be very pleased if somebody could tell me Pakistan space ambitions step by step

Thanks
 
I little late and not good enough. I think we can learn a lot from India...

How much can we have... We use Chinese launcher, we use Chinese assistance (sat), and we use their loans to buy it. Pakistan sucks.
 
I little late and not good enough. I think we can learn a lot from India...

How much can we have... We use Chinese launcher, we use Chinese assistance (sat), and we use their loans to buy it. Pakistan sucks.

Munir sb,
After reading your wise comments in other threads with full of patriotism, this one is realy surprising.

Well then I would say what else you could expect from ***** Zardari.
 
doesnt matter if its china's assistance is there, the fact remains, the sat is dedicated to pakistan. Either ways, it is one very important step towards self sustainment. Once the economy of Pakistan picks up, Pak will find its sats completely.

congrats to the people involved in developing it. Its a learning curve, starts at a very low pace, then picks up. The important thing is to start.
 
It's a tremendous achievement!
your investment would be enjoyed by you sitting in your homes....the next time you switch on your TVs...you'd know that your money would entertain you and not end up in some god-forsaken silo in a military base as some advanced long range missile which would rust away it's miserable life being pointed at us!
 
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