Pakistan Space and Satellite Developments

[Thunder]

http://www.suparco.gov.pk/index.asp

Website of pakistani space reasearch

 

[A.Rahman]

cool;

 

[Neo]

I read in the media that during his last visit to China, Musharraf discussed the possibility of sending first Pak astronaut into space with China soon.

I can't wait to see that happen.
:flag:

 

[Samudra]

When will Suparco launch its SLV?

I find it hard to believe that a nation that is capable of making missiles that travel a few thousand kilometers - exit the atmosphere and re-enter it cannot make a simple SLV.Something must be wrong.

 

[EagleEyes]

Maybe that they have funded for only nuclear capable missiles? I know that Shaheen-2 which is a stage 2 ballistic missile can be used for SLV, but i dont know why Pakistan still haven't make up a SLV yet.

There were many reports in the past that the collaboration between China and Pakistan is going on for the advancement and make up of SLV but no real tests so far. Its either that there is a lack of funds or people to work on the project which i doubt.

I guess it will be a surprise just like Babur cruise missile, JDAM, etc..

 

[Samudra]

There were many reports in the past that the collaboration between China and Pakistan is going on for the advancement and make up of SLV but no real tests so far.

If any of your long range ballistic missiles were truly indigenous then you wont need the Chinese to help you make a SLV.

Building a SLV is a LOT more easier and CHEAPER than developing and deploying long range ballistic missiles, Webmaster.

 

[Neo]

Actually, there's a renewd interest in the space technology but like most other programs there's not much info available

Here's a link with some info;

Pakistan is still in the process of developing its own Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV). Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, announced in March 2001 that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first SLV and that the project had been assigned to SUPARCO, Pakistan's national space agency, which also built the Badr satellites.[1] According to Dr. Abdul Majid, chairman of SUPARCO, Pakistan envisaged a low-cost SLV in order to launch lightweight satellites into low-earth orbits.[2] Dr. Khan also cited the fact that India had made rapid strides in the fields of SLV and satellite manufacture as another motivation for developing an indigenous launch capability.[1] According to an Islamabad news source, the SLV would be derived from an already available missile launching system, which may be an indication that technologies acquired for the ballistic missile program would eventually be used to develop an SLV.[2,3] All the experiments necessary to ready the SLV for a complete flight test have not been completed, although Pakistani scientists have tested three of the four stages.[2]

In March 2005, President Pervez Musharaff authorized renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability, which would be able to orbit a planned domestically built satellite, the Paksat-IR.[4] However, no specific completion date of this project is available, and reports remain unclear as to whether President Musharaff is referring to continuation of the former SLV program or a new launch vehicle project. The country's indigenously manufactured communications satellites Badr-1 and Badr-B were launched on a Chinese Long March rocket in 1990 and a Russian Zenit-2 rocket from Kazakhstan in December 2001, respectively.[5,6]


SUPARCO's headquarters are located in Karachi. Its space launch facilities are located in southern Pakistan at Sonmiani Beach on the Arabian Sea.[7] However, SUPARCO has only launched sounding rockets from this site, referred to as the Flight Test Range (FTR).[7] These facilities are shared with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's National Defence Complex, which uses the site to flight-test solid-fueled ballistic missiles.[8] SUPARCO has a ground station near Islamabad and telemetry, tracking, and control stations located at Sonmiani Beach, Karachi, and Lahore.[9]


[1] Nizamuddin Siddiqui, "Satellite launch vehicle being built: Qadar," Karachi Dawn, March 11, 2001; in "Qadeer Khan: Pakistani scientists active in building Satellite Launch Vehicle," FBIS Document SAP20010311000032.
[2] "Pakistan Badr-B Satellite To Go into Orbit Next Month," The News (Islamabad), March 1, 2001, in FBIS Document SAP20010301000052.
[3] Personal Communication with Gaurav Kampani, Senior Research Associate, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, July 4, 2004.
[4] "Pakistan: Report--Space Agency Asked To Manufacture, Launch Advanced Satellite," The News (Islamabad), March 27, 2005, FBIS Document SAP20050327000006.
[5] "SUPARCO to launch satellite," The Statesman (Peshawar), April 26, 2002; in "Official: Pakistan planning to develop communication, reconnaissance satellites," FBIS Document SAP20020426000082.
[6] "Pakistan's First Satellite Badr-1," Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission website, http://www.suparco.gov.pk/sat_badr1.html.
[7] "Objectives and Outline of Space Programmes," Pakistan Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission website, http://www.suparco.gov.pk/obj.html.
[8] "Missile Facilities: Flight Test Range, Sonmiani Beach," Nuclear Threat Initiative website, http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pak.../3294_3333.html.
[9] "Establishments," Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission website, http://www.suparco.gov.pk/establishment.htm.

http://cns.miis.edu/research/space/pakistan/launch.htm

 

[Neo]

Pakistan Plans to Launch Its Satellite from own SLV

ISLAMABAD, 28 March 2005 — President Pervez Musharraf has given the green signal to manufacturing and launching Pakistan’s own advanced satellite. Sources said that Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) has been reorganized to facilitate the country’s entry into the space age on its own.

Pakistan has decided to manufacture the latest satellite version and launchers indigenously. Until now, Suparco was manufacturing weather forecast satellites.

Scientists and engineers of the commission are determined to achieve on schedule the mission of manufacturing and launching communication and surveillance satellites.

The former Chairman of Suparco, Dr. Salim Mehmud, appreciated the directives of the president regarding manufacturing and launching of a multipurpose satellite. He recalled that Suparco provided the foundation for the country’s missile program.

One of the achievements of Suparco is upgrading the Satellite Ground Receiving Station at Rawat. The station is meant to receive high-resolution images (HRI) from remote sensing satellites.

It has also put into operation the Aerospace Institute. This center has become functional for imparting post-graduate education in the field of space science and space technology. It has done feasibility studies for remote sensing satellite and communication satellite.

The organization has conducted studies on development of Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), which would launch the proposed satellites into space. Suparco has successfully applied satellite images for survey of natural resources.

 

[ali ahmad]

salam to all

did pakistan have a space program?
if yes then whats its status??
and does pakistan have sufficient facilities?
one facility i think in sonmiani..owned by SUPARCO.

 

[KashifAsrar]

salam to all

did pakistan have a space program?
if yes then whats its status??
and does pakistan have sufficient facilities?
one facility i think in sonmiani..owned by SUPARCO.

I am highly interested in this topic as well. What are the pakistan capabilities and what are thier future programs. How they are devloping on this front and what are the resources available to them. If some can provide the concrete information please.

 

[ali ahmad]

The national space agency of Pakistan, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), was established in 1962 as an autonomous research and development organization under the federal government.[1] According to SUPARCO, Pakistan's space program is "aimed at furthering research in space science and allied fields, enhancing indigenous capabilities in space technology and promoting the peaceful applications of space science and technology for the socio-economic development of the country."[2]

Up until 2002, a primary concern of Pakistan's space program had been the acquisition of a satellite in order to preserve the geostationary orbital slot allocated to it by the International Telecommunications Union in 1984.[3] The total number of slots available in geostationary orbit are limited. Because Pakistan was not able to place a satellite in the four orbital slots it had been assigned previously, it was given one final orbital position and a deadline of April 19, 2003, with the understanding that if the location was not filled, Pakistan would not have access to any future geostationary positions.[3] In December 2002, Pakistan accomplished this task by acquiring the United States' HGS3 satellite, which was originally launched in 1996 as Indonesia's Palapa C1 and was later sold to Turkey.[2,4] When Pakistan leased the satellite, it was renamed Paksat-1 and was relocated from Turkey's orbital slot to Pakistan's.[2]

For FY2004-05, SUPARCO received 382 million rupees (approximately $6.4 million) of the Pakistani budget, which was to be used for the lease fees and operational costs of Paksat-1, as well as for feasibility and system definition studies for the Earth-Observation Satellite System (EOSS) and Paksat-IR projects.[5

 

[ali ahmad]

Pakistan is still in the process of developing its own Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV). Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, announced in March 2001 that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first SLV and that the project had been assigned to SUPARCO, Pakistan's national space agency, which also built the Badr satellites.[1] According to Dr. Abdul Majid, chairman of SUPARCO, Pakistan envisaged a low-cost SLV in order to launch lightweight satellites into low-earth orbits.[2] Dr. Khan also cited the fact that India had made rapid strides in the fields of SLV and satellite manufacture as another motivation for developing an indigenous launch capability.[1] According to an Islamabad news source, the SLV would be derived from an already available missile launching system, which may be an indication that technologies acquired for the ballistic missile program would eventually be used to develop an SLV.[2,3] All the experiments necessary to ready the SLV for a complete flight test have not been completed, although Pakistani scientists have tested three of the four stages.[2]

In March 2005, President Pervez Musharaff authorized renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability, which would be able to orbit a planned domestically built satellite, the Paksat-IR.[4] However, no specific completion date of this project is available, and reports remain unclear as to whether President Musharaff is referring to continuation of the former SLV program or a new launch vehicle project. The country's indigenously manufactured communications satellites Badr-1 and Badr-B were launched on a Chinese Long March rocket in 1990 and a Russian Zenit-2 rocket from Kazakhstan in December 2001, respectively.[5,6]

 

[master_fx]

dont worry about launch vehicles coz china will always willing to provide u that... just worry about the tech in those satellites.....

 

[ali ahmad]

Musharraf has directed the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission to develop the capability to make and launch different types of satellites, in particular communications, remote sensing and weather satellites,

 

[Neo]

Musharraf has directed the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission to develop the capability to make and launch different types of satellites, in particular communications, remote sensing and weather satellites,

Even more than this...during his visit to China earlier this year he discussed the possibility of sending first Pakistani astronaut into the space from China! :flag: