Pakistan on Monday 9th July 2018 launched two satellites Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) and Pakistan Technology Evaluation Satellite-1A (PakTES-1A) in to the space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China.
The two satellites were propelled in to space with the Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle. Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in a statement said that the 1,200-kg mass satellite PRSS-1 will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 640 km.
Furthermore, the satellite is equipped with a high resolution optical payload that will enable Pakistan to meet its imagery requirements in the areas of land mapping, agriculture classification and assessment, urban and rural planning, environmental monitoring, natural disaster management and water resource management for socio-economic development of the country.
The PRSS-1 will be mainly used for land resources survey, evaluation, dynamic monitoring and management, resource utilisation, environmental disaster monitoring, agricultural survey, and urban construction in the country.
The PakTES-1A designed and developed by SUPARCO’s engineers is a 285-kg satellite equipped with an optical payload. With a design life of 3 years, the satellite will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 610 km. With this launch, SUPARCO’s scientists and engineers will be able to harness critical technologies essentially required for Pakistan’s Satellite Development Program
The successful implementation of PRSS-1 and PakTES-1A projects has further strengthened the space cooperation between Pakistan and China for future collaborations.
This launch marks the second space corporation between China and Pakistan since the launch of PAKSAT-1R, a communication satellite, in August 2011. It is to be noted that it is also the first international commercial launch for a Long March-2C rocket within nearly two decades after it carried Motorola’s Iridium satellites into orbit in 1999.
