First Pakistani space mission in 2022

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first space mission has been planned for 2022 and the Federal Cabinet has approved this in today’s meeting.

An agreement between Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and a Chinese company has already been signed, Federal Information Minister Ch Fawad Hussain said after the cabinet meeting.

Pakistan in July this year launched two of its satellites into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China.

The satellites, Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) and Pakistan Technology Evaluation Satellite-1A (PakTES-1A), were propelled into space through the Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle.

The PRSS-1 is to be mainly used in Pakistan for land resources survey, evaluation, dynamic monitoring and management, resource utilisation, environmental disaster monitoring, agricultural survey, and urban construction.

The satellite, which has a designed life of seven years, is equipped with two panchromatic/multispectral cameras, with a resolution up to a meter and a coverage range of 60 km.