The Suparco's spaceflight missions and tests were the
sounding rocket launches of the
Space Research Commission (SUPARCO) that were aimed for developing high-altitude rockets for
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's space programme. The exploration programme provides opportunities for physics,
atmospheric physics
Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, chem ...
, investigations of the prevailing temperature gradients, wind velocities and density of the
upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes:
* The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...
. Since its inception, over 200 sounding rockets were launched by Suparco from 1962 till its partial termination in 1972.
Pakistan was first country among developing nations,
Islamic world and in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, third in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and tenth in the world to successfully launch a vessel into outer space with flight of
Rehbar-I.
Originally, it has been a SUPARCO programme and is still active as of current. The space mission programme has taken over by various aerospace authorities and institutions, including many international collaborations, in the country. Since late 1980s, most of the tests have been involved in the
research and development, followed by the physical testings of the
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
have also been conducted. Notable spaceflights of the launchers have included
Rehbar-I,
Shaheen-I
The Shaheen-I ( ur, شاہين-ا; official codename: Hatf–IV Shaheen), is a Pakistani land-based supersonic and short-to-medium range surface-to-surface guided ballistic missile jointly designed and developed by the joint venture of NESCOM ...
/
Shaheen-II
The Shaheen-II (Urdu:شاهين–اا; codename: Hatf–VI Shaheen) is a Pakistani land-based supersonic surface-to-surface medium-range guided ballistic missile. The ''Shaheen-II'' is designed and developed by the NESCOM and the National ...
, various
Ghauri-II
The Ghauri-II (Urdu:غوری-اا; official codename: Hatf–VA Ghauri–II), is a Pakistani surface-to-surface medium range guided ballistic missile designed and developed by the Khan Research Laboratories. It is a single-stage liquid fuel m ...
space boosters and missiles.
Spaceflight by year
Spacecraft by year
Recent testings and launch
December 10, 2001
;Badr-B
Badr-B
The Badr-B ( ur, ; also known as Badr-II, meaning ''Full Moon-2'') is the second spacecraft and the first earth observation satellite launched into Earth orbit on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by the SUPARCO — Pakistan's national space agency. ' ...
was Pakistan's second satellite. Built in collaboration with the English company SIL, it had a mass of 70 kg and carried an Earth imager.
May 25, 2002 - November 16, 2006
References
External links
Astronautix: Pakistan
{{Pakistan Armed Forces
Pakistan rocket test chronology
Nuclear history of Pakistan
SUPARCO missions
Pakistan rocket test chronology
Rocket test chronology