In its budget for the 2021-2022 Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the Pakistani government is looking to allocate funds to study the feasibility of the following space development projects:
- Establishment of Pakistan Space Centre (PSC).
- The Pakistan Satellite Navigation Program (PSNP).
- Development of a spaceport (i.e., a satellite launch vehicle site).
- Pakistan Multi-Mission Communication Satellite (Pak-Sat-MM1).
- Pakistan Remote Sensing Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite (PRSS-S1).
- Pakistan Optical Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-O2).
The government is conducting the feasibility studies through the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). These programs are tentative in scope because they are currently limited to only assessing project feasibility and/or defining system requirements.[1]
Despite the uncertainty, Pakistan’s intent to pursue each of these programs date back to at least 2010.
For example, under ‘Space Vision 2040’, SUPARCO had revealed that it would launch at least three remote sensing satellites (RSS) and, ultimately, supplant its older satellites with new systems. The original timeline for launching the follow-on RSS units was in 2012-2020. SUPARCO evidently had to delay its timelines, but it seems that the current PSDP allocations are working towards the original plan.
Currently, Pakistan has one RSS satellite in space, i.e., the PRSS-O1, which China launched from its Jiuquan Launch Site Center (JLSC) on 09 July 2018. The PRSS-O1 is equipped with an electro-optical (EO) payload.
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