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SUPARCO
The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, commonly referred to as SUPARCO, is the national space agency of Pakistan.
The agency, originally established in 1961 as a committee in Karachi, became an independent commission in 1981. Its initial objective was to learn rocketry and high altitude research from the United States, which ultimately led to the development of a national satellite program. This culminated in the successful launch of Pakistan's first satellite from China in 1990. The agency was also an early participant in the rocket development program launched by the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan.
The agency leads the National Space Program (NSP) and maintains the orbital operations of its satellites with support facilities throughout the country.
SUPARCO also serves as the secretariat for Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) which was established in February 2024 under the National Command Authority to regulate all space-related activities in Pakistan.
The past federal ministries of Pakistan initially avoided to fund the space program and engineering education in spite of opportunity available from the United States. The Punjab University was the only university that was undertaking the research in aeronautics in 1957; after the former Soviet Union launched its first satellite in space, the Sputnik 1.
It was during the development of Apollo program in 1961 when Abdus Salam found an opportunity for Pakistan to start its space program with the foreign funding coming from the United States. NASA, embarking on the Apollo program in a competition with Soviet space program, had realize the need of scientific data in upper atmosphere and therefore, invited India and Pakistan (bordering nations of the Indian Ocean) to join the studies and experimentations. Initially, the engineers from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) learned rocketry at the Wallops Flight Facility as Abdus Salam worked on getting approval for establishing a commission from the Ayub administration.
A commission to study the upper atmosphere and rocketry was established under Abdus Salam and Ishrat Usmani as its chairman with nuclear engineers from PAEC, Tariq Mustafa and Salim Mehmud, becoming its first members in 1961 through the "Space Sciences Research Wing" of PAEC. The Commission was the first in the Muslim world to start studies in establishing a national space program, and was named as "Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission" to represent its purpose and mission on 16 September 1961.
The Commission working under Abdus Salam was tasked with learning the rocket engineering, and contribution from France and the United States helped start this mission. Foundation of the agency made Pakistan the first South Asian country to start a space program. Furthermore, a Flight Test Range was established in Sonmiani which is 50 km (31 mi) west of Karachi, from where a program of sounding rocket launches was conducted based on the Nike-Ajax rockets followed by the Judi-Dart program.
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SUPARCO
The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, commonly referred to as SUPARCO, is the national space agency of Pakistan.
The agency, originally established in 1961 as a committee in Karachi, became an independent commission in 1981. Its initial objective was to learn rocketry and high altitude research from the United States, which ultimately led to the development of a national satellite program. This culminated in the successful launch of Pakistan's first satellite from China in 1990. The agency was also an early participant in the rocket development program launched by the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan.
The agency leads the National Space Program (NSP) and maintains the orbital operations of its satellites with support facilities throughout the country.
SUPARCO also serves as the secretariat for Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) which was established in February 2024 under the National Command Authority to regulate all space-related activities in Pakistan.
The past federal ministries of Pakistan initially avoided to fund the space program and engineering education in spite of opportunity available from the United States. The Punjab University was the only university that was undertaking the research in aeronautics in 1957; after the former Soviet Union launched its first satellite in space, the Sputnik 1.
It was during the development of Apollo program in 1961 when Abdus Salam found an opportunity for Pakistan to start its space program with the foreign funding coming from the United States. NASA, embarking on the Apollo program in a competition with Soviet space program, had realize the need of scientific data in upper atmosphere and therefore, invited India and Pakistan (bordering nations of the Indian Ocean) to join the studies and experimentations. Initially, the engineers from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) learned rocketry at the Wallops Flight Facility as Abdus Salam worked on getting approval for establishing a commission from the Ayub administration.
A commission to study the upper atmosphere and rocketry was established under Abdus Salam and Ishrat Usmani as its chairman with nuclear engineers from PAEC, Tariq Mustafa and Salim Mehmud, becoming its first members in 1961 through the "Space Sciences Research Wing" of PAEC. The Commission was the first in the Muslim world to start studies in establishing a national space program, and was named as "Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission" to represent its purpose and mission on 16 September 1961.
The Commission working under Abdus Salam was tasked with learning the rocket engineering, and contribution from France and the United States helped start this mission. Foundation of the agency made Pakistan the first South Asian country to start a space program. Furthermore, a Flight Test Range was established in Sonmiani which is 50 km (31 mi) west of Karachi, from where a program of sounding rocket launches was conducted based on the Nike-Ajax rockets followed by the Judi-Dart program.
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