Pakistan Satellites and Lanch Vehicles

[Jade]

Pakistan-made Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) to be ready by 2003

24 November 1999

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will develop its own satellite launching vehicle within a period of about three years, to carry out environmental tests.

This was stated by Dr Abdul Majid, Chairman Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), while talking to newsmen here on Wednesday after opening of international workshop on Low Cost Space Missions. Pakistan, he said is also planning to develop its own indigenous 'earth observation satellite' within a period of two to three years. To a question, he said the Badr-B satellite will be launched in March next year.

Earlier addressing the inaugural session of the workshop, Dr Abdul Majid said Pakistan's long term development programme is aimed at developing manpower and relevant infrastructure for design and fabrication of light weight satellites.

He said Pakistan's first experimental satellite Badr-1, successfully launched into a low earth orbit in July 1990, was indigenously designed and fabricated while indigenous facilities were used for its tracking, acquisition and telecommand. He said the primary mission objectives of Badr-1 were evaluation of indigenously designed hardware and software in space environment, and to obtain hands-on experience in telecommands and two-way communications between the ground control station and the spacecraft, which were largely achieved.

The experience and the confidence gained has been used to complete the second satellite which presently is undergoing integration tests with the Russian satellite in Moscow, he added.

Badr-B is scheduled to be launched from Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Zenit-2 rocket. The main mission objectives of Badr-B programme include indigenous development of low cost satellites and creation of necessary infrastructure for future development in this field.

The Chairman SUPARCO said Pakistan has always been very keen to share its known-how, information and development efforts with the Islamic Ummah. He said proposals for participation in Pakistan's Badr satellite programme and development of a Pan-Islamic Earth Observation Satellite could be cited as efforts made by Inter-Islamic Network on Space Sciences and Technology (ISNET) towards that end.

 

[Jade]

Launching of BADR-B to open new vistas for Pak scientists, engineers: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Dec 12 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday said that the successful launching of country’s second satellite, BADR-B, has opened new vistas in other space applications for Pakistani scientists, engineers and the scientific data users community. “BADR-B will yield data of immense value in the fields of remote sensing applications, atmospheric studies and telecommunications,” he said in a message at the launching of BADR- B. President Musharraf said he was very pleased to learn that country’s National Space Agency, SUPARCO has added another significant milestone to its programme of peaceful applications of outer space.

“Pakistan has thus come in the exclusive company of those countries which are capable of indigenously designing and fabricating a satellite system,” he said. The President expressed his great appreciation for the cooperation extended to SUPARCO by the Russian Space Authorities in facilitating the launch of BADR-B. The launching of BADR-B has opened new vistas in other space applications for Pakistani scientists and engineers as well as the scientific data users community on the national level, he added. “It has been made possible through untiring efforts of Pakistani scientists, engineers technicians and all associated staff who deserve commendation on this great accomplishment.” The President congratulated them for having faced a difficult challenge, braving all odds and making it possible for Pakistan to enter the 21st Century with technological and scientific advancements. “This however is not the time to sit on laurels,” said the President and asked SUPARCO to take up the challenge of improving upon the capabilities of BADR-B and to speedily, move into the category of Hi-tech satellites at the earliest. He wished them all success in their future endeavors in making Pakistan a proud Flag-bearer of Muslim Ummah in outer space.

 

[Jade]

Badar-II to help develop low cost satellites

By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE-Pakistan's second indigenously built satellite Badar-II, which was launched on December 10, will help in acquisition of know-how and capability in launching advanced communication and earth imaging satellites in future.
This was stated by Muhammad Imran General Manager, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) while briefing newsmen here on Tuesday. He said that the working of the satellite, installed with a CCD Camera, was satisfactory so far. "The satellite is equipped with a microprocessor based on-board computer, employing to support a store and forward digital communication experiment," he informed.
He was of the view that launching of Badar-II will play a pivotal role in indigenous development of low cost satellites and creation of necessary infrastructure for future development in this field. He said that the development would also be advantageous in acquiring technology for earth imaging by use of CCD sensors. The design life of the satellite, weighing approximately 70 kg, is more than two years.
Comparing the Indian advancement in space research with Pakistan, he said that the basic problem which impeded indigenous efforts, was lesser allocation of funds.
Talking about delay in launching the satellite, he said the delay was due to some problem with the launching of the rocket.
To a questions, he said that Suparco also contributed in defence related projects and it had played major role in developing the Shaheen missile. In order to focus satellite development, he stated, we are constructing a separate block at Suparco premises with a view to providing state-of-the-art facilities for developing satellite. It may be noted that Badar-II satellite has been launched from Baikonour Cosmodrom, Kazakistan on Zenit-2 rocket.It has been launched in a sunsynchronous circular orbit of 1018 km altitude with an orbital period of about 105 minutes and inclination of 99.64 degree. A typical pass over Pakistan would last between 10 to 15 minutes.
Among others, Dr Riaz, Umer Iqbal and Khalid Bashir were also present on the occasion

 

[Jade]

Pakistan now capable of satellite launch


By Ashraf Mumtaz

LAHORE, Dec 11: The launching of the Badr-II satellite on Monday night, about 11 years after the first such satellite was placed into the orbit, has enabled Pakistan to plan its own launching facility , Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission officials said on Tuesday.

The Suparco will also add an earth observatory and a geo-stationary communication system. A satellite control facility is being set up in Lahore.

Suparco officials in the Punjab capital are monitoring the movement and working of Badr-II, which is at an altitude of 1,018 kilometres. Its designed life is two years. The satellite completes a revolution in the orbit in about 105 minutes, which means at a velocity of nearly seven kilometres per second.

The speed is variable because of the movement of the earth which has a bearing on the orbit. A typical pass over Pakistan lasts between 10 and 15 minutes.

The suparco officials were not willing to disclose the cost incurred on manufacturing and launching of the 70-kilogram satellite.

Pakistan was the first Islamic country to launch a satellite in 1990. However, Morocco, too, launched a satellite with Dar II. Three satellites, owned by other countries, were also launched simultaneously, allowing sharing of the launch expenditure.

The Suparco believes that all targets associated with Badr-II would be achieved. These are: indigenous development of low cost satellites and creation of the infrastructure for future development; acquisition of satellite altitude control and stabilization know-how; acquisition of earth imaging technology and use of CCD sensors; and promotion of interest among academic and scientific community in the peaceful uses of space.

Pakistan's first satellite, Badr-I, launched on July 16, 1990, from Xichang satellite launch centre, China, was designed for an orbit life of five to six months but survived only 35 days. Suparco sources said, however, it had worked satisfactorily and the telemetry and house-keeping data was received and analysed during its 178 passes over Pakistan.

A Suparco official said it would not be fair to compare Pakistan with India in space technology since the latter was allocating much more funds. He added that Pakistan was doing fairly well.

 

[WAR]

Actually SUPARCO need a major overhaul. This would have been done a decade ago.

Everyone knew that a considerable lot of incompetent people hijacked the organisation.

Rest all is propaganda.

 

[aaaditya]

what about the launcher ?supposed to be launched in 2003,seems to be 4 years overdue.

 

[Jade]

what about the launcher ?supposed to be launched in 2003,seems to be 4 years overdue.

Looks as if Iran has beaten Pakistan in terms of satellite launch capability.

As for making satellites, maybe they are at the same level ?

 

[Jade]

Access Partnership Assists in Implementation of First Satellite Network for Pakistan

April 2003

In cooperation with the Government of Pakistan and G2 Satellite Solutions, Access Partnership completed the first phase of co-ordination of the PAKSAT-1 satellite network, located at 38E in the geostationary arc.

Originally filed with the ITU in 1994, the PAKSAT-1 network began operations in January 2003 serving Pakistan and the surrounding region with C- and Ku-band capacity. Access Partnership planned and executed the co-ordination strategy with G2 Satellite Solutions (formerly Hughes Global Services), the provider of the satellite, and the Frequency Allocation Board of Pakistan, the government body responsible for satellite filings. After the completion of a number of successful co-ordination agreements, the system was notified to the ITU in March 2003.

The government intends to use the satellite for new television channels as it has 30 C-band and 4 Ku band transponders on board. It can also reduce bandwidth rates to promote Internet usage and enable new services such as educational intranet, virtual university, telemedicine and video conferencing.

'Pakistan has entered a new era of socio-economic development. This landmark achievement would fulfill its communication, educational and strategic requirements. Total frequency coordination with Russia was achieved for utilizing the satellite to the maximum. All the 34 transponders of the satellite may now be used to the maximum as there is a possibility of generating far more revenue than expected earlier.'

From 'The Nation', March 2003, www.nation.com.pk

'IT and Telecommunications Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said on Saturday the country had achieved frequency coordination for the Paksat-1 communication satelliteThe satellite could only be utilized after removing frequency constraint by making it coordinated with neighbouring satellites, he said.The minister said that though Pakistan had the satellite and it could file with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the ability to use its potential was dependent on the ability to coordinate with operators of nearby satellites or those who had priority.'

From 'Dawn', Pakistan's most widely circulated English language newspaper, 9th March 2003 www.dawn.com

For further details on PAKSAT-1 contact [email protected]

 

[SABRE]

Looks as if Iran has beaten Pakistan in terms of satellite launch capability.

As for making satellites, maybe they are at the same level ?

What are you talking about? Babr-B or Badr-2 has already been in the space since 2003-2004 (with Badr-1 being in space since late 1980s) & according to SUPARCO its working fine. Another 2 Satellites are under development. One is from SUPARCO & the other one is from a private company (under the approval of SUPARCO). These satellites would most probably be lauched by Pakistan it self.

There is another Pakistan-China-Allies joint Satellite/Space program in development (Which Turkey also wants to join). You can find out about it if you care to go couple of forums back, rather than opening up new threads.

 

[funtz]

this is great news for Pakistan, through all its trouble Pakistan has managed to have enough investment dedicated towards high-tech sector, after a decade or so as Pakistan comes out of the internal turmoil these investments will ensure that Pakistan has an industrial sector that is technologically indigenous, all failures will be lessons learned.

 

[Jade]

mod edit:

Edited due to language.

AD

 

[su-30mki]

The project was planned in 1999 and to take off in 2003. Is it still overdue or hasve they launched it succesfully???

 

[SABRE]

The project was planned in 1999 and to take off in 2003. Is it still overdue or hasve they launched it succesfully???

Its in space & working fine.