''For other people with the same or similar name, see

Abdul Majid ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words ''Abd (Arabic), ʻabd'' ...

'' Abdul Majid (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

):(عبد الماجد) is a Pakistani astrophysicist and scientist in the field of

space technology Space technology is technology for use in outer space. Space technology includes space vehicles such as spacecraft, satellites, space stations and orbital spaceflight, orbital launch vehicles; :Spacecraft communication, deep-space communication; :S ...

. He is a former chairman of

Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission 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 in ...

from 1997 to 2001. He had made significant contributions to Pakistan's space program. During his tenure as SUPARCO administrator, Pakistan launched two satellites in

Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...

(LEO).

Education

Abdul Majid was born in

Narowal Narowal ( Punjabi / ; ) is a historic a city located on the western bank of river Ravi in Punjab Pakistan. It was found by a Jat named Baba Naro Bajwa many centuries ago. The city is the capital of district Narowal, and a part of the Guj ...

, Pakistan from where he received his elementary and high school education. He received BSc (hons) and MSc in

Nuclear Physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

from Government College,

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...

in 1962 and was awarded the Roll of Honours. His thesis on 'Radiative Capture of Neutrons' was rated as one of the best ever submitted for a master's degree by Rafi M. Chaudhary. Under NASA fellowship program he studied Astrogeophysics at Colorado University, Boulder, Colorado. For his PhD he worked on Radio interferometric detection of Gravity Waves under Sir Granville Jones/PJSWilliams at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth UK. The project involved fabrication of phase switched receivers as an integral constituent of widely spaced radio interferometers. The system detected gravity waves as travelling ionospheric disturbances.

SUPARCO career

After his PhD, he came back to Pakistan and joined Pakistan's Space Program as a researcher in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

and

aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred solely to ''ope ...

labs. Majid worked under the supervision of noted Pakistani-Polish military scientist and

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

W. J. M. Turowicz, in the field of Rocket Technology and published numerous research papers. He is credited for the design and developed the Hypersonic Rocket Launch Vehicle or Hatf Missiles Series during his stay at SUPARCO. In 1983, Majid was put in-charge of Satellite Development Program of Pakistan. He is widely credited for the indigenous development and launching of BADR-1 and development of

Badr-B The Badr-B (; also known as Badr-II, meaning ''Full Moon-2'') was the second spacecraft and the first Earth observation satellite launched into Sun-synchronous orbit on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by SUPARCO — Pakistan's national space agency. ' ...

Earth Observation Satellites. He was keen to develop Pakistan's Space Launch capabilities and met with both former

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

to gain their approval for the project. The project however was not sanctioned due to economic constrains. In 1992, Abdul Majid travelled to Russia, where he was able to sign a deal in 1995 with

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from ...

to launch the Pakistani Satellite with a given deadline. According to him, Russians agreed to launch Pakistan's domestically built satellite from their soil. The satellite was completed in 1999 and was transported to Russia in early 2000. In 1999, Majid, as then-Chairman of Pakistan's

(

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 in ...

) announced that Pakistan would develop its own satellite launching vehicle within a period of about three years. He also met then-Chief executive of Pakistan, Gen. (r).

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

in the army house. He, along with

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

, briefed General Musharraf about the project where Majid received his green signal. However, the SLV Project's status remains unclear.

References

;References and Links
Forum
pakistanidefence.com

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

History
SUPARCO
Pakistan Satellites Launch Vehicles
defencetalk.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Majid, Abdul Pakistani physicists Pakistani scientists Pakistani scholars 1941 births Living people Alumni of the University of Wales Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission people Administrators of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission Aerospace engineers