Dr Lutfur Rehman
BEIJING—Islamabad friendship entered a new phase when two Pakistani astronauts, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were selected for a space mission and will go to China for training at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing after comprehensive medical, psychological and aptitude tests under international criteria.
After completion of training, either of them will undertake spaceflight this year, becoming the first-ever foreign astronaut to board a Chinese spacecraft and conduct scientific experiments in space under the bilateral “Astronaut Cooperation Agreement” signed in Islamabad last year. This marks a watershed in Pakistan’s manned space mission as Pakistan joins a small group of nations engaged in human spaceflight. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked China, calling it possible due to the “ironclad China-Pakistan brotherhood.”
Pakistan started focusing on space exploration after the (former) Soviet Union sent its first satellite, Sputnik-1 in 1957. A committee was set up for this purpose in 1961 on the advice of a prominent scientist and the first Pakistani Noble Prize Winner, Dr. Abdus Salam. The committee was then named as Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Pakistan sent its first rocket, Rehbar-1 in the upper atmosphere, 130 km above the earth in 1962 and became the third country in Asia and the tenth on the global level to achieve this distinction. In the subsequent month, another rocket, Rahbar-II, was also launched and this process continued till 1972.
Unfortunately, this tempo was broken and no attention was paid to space exploration in the coming years, which caused losses to Pakistan. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocated five slots to Pakistan in 1984, but it did not launch any satellite even after an extension, thus losing four space slots. As the country lagged behind, it sought Chinese help and launched its first satellite, Badr-1, in July 1990 from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. Although it could not complete its six-month lifespan due to technical faults, its data communications were satisfactory. This opened a new space window and Pakistan made progress with SUPARCO designing Badr-2 with British assistance, launched in December 2001 from Baikonur Space Station in Kazakhstan. It was planned for two years but remained operational until 2012.
Keeping in view growing communication needs, Pakistan leased Anatolia-1, a Turkish satellite in 2002, renamed Paksat-1, which was later replaced in August 2011 by the modern PakSat-1R launched by China. Seven years later, Pakistan launched its first indigenous remote sensing satellite, PRSS-1. Building on these achievements, it launched the small satellite ICUBE-Qamar in May 2024 for a lunar mission, marking a watershed in the space programme as it operates in extreme low temperatures of minus 100°C and sends lunar images. In the same year, PakSAT-MM1 was launched, providing services to major television networks. On 25 April this year, Pakistan launched its indigenous electro-optical satellite EO-3 from China to improve remote sensing and imaging reliability. Space technology is vital for agriculture, crop and livestock monitoring, forests, rainfall, surface water mapping, glacier movement, disaster management and exploration of natural resources.
It is also extensively used for strategic purposes. As Pakistan has two hostile neighbours; India on the southern and Afghanistan in the northern sides, therefore, use of space technology is vital for national security. India has more than 50 operational satellites in space including about 20 with military purposes. In March 2019, it conducted a test of Anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles to destroy satellites of other nations. The key drivers of the Indian space programme include Nuclear Command, Control and Communication (NC3), Global Positioning System (GPS), Positioning, Navigation, Timing (PNT) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). This reflects the Indian aggressive designs.
Pakistan has no other way but to accelerate its space programme. Therefore, it has embarked on an ambitious plan to explore and use space technology for the national security and development. Satellites serve as the backbone in modern warfare. It provides real time effective strategic services to the defence forces including intelligence gathering, secure communications and navigation. The GPS plays a vital role in precision weapon system, tracking enemy movements and helping command and control. Therefore, space technology will help to foil evil designs of foreign sponsored terrorists to attack the sites of CPEC projects or Chinese engineers working on these development schemes.
As China-Pakistan friendship is time tested, therefore, it is hoped that Islamabad in close collaboration with Beijing will achieve all the targets of its Space Vision 2040. It will put more satellites or ‘eyes in the sky’ to explore space besides tackling the Indian threats, strengthening regional security and advancing technological self-reliance.
—The writer is former Controller News, Radio Pakistan and author of two books on “Pakistan-Afghanistan Border”.
