Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said on Wednesday that, in its first space mission, the country will send the first Pakistani to space in 2022.
While holding a press conference after the federal cabinet session, the information minister said that the cabinet has decided that the first Pakistani would be sent to space in 2022. An agreement has been signed to this effect between Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and their Chinese counterpart.
Earlier this year, China had launched two satellites for Pakistan on a Long March-2C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The PRSS-1 is China's first optical remote sensing satellite sold to Pakistan and the 17th satellite developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) for an overseas buyer.
A scientific experiment satellite, PakTES-1A, developed by Pakistan, was sent into orbit via the same rocket. After entering orbit, the PRSS-1 was in good condition with its solar panels unfolded smoothly, according to CAST. The satellite, which had a designed life of seven years, was equipped with two panchromatic/multispectral cameras, with a resolution up to a meter and a coverage range of 60 km.
Designers had said that the two cameras were among the best exported remote sensing cameras made by China. They could be used to monitor plant diseases and pests. The PRSS-1 was said to be used for land and resources surveying, monitoring of natural disasters, agriculture research, urban construction and providing remote sensing information for the Belt and Road region.
