Pakistan will send first astronaut into space in 2022: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry
Pakistan will launch its first space mission in 2022, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced during a press briefing in Islamabad.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Fawad Chaudhry said that a contract has been signed between a Chinese company and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) for the mission.
This will be Pakistan’s first space mission.
Pakistan launched two of its satellites into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China in July this year.
The satellites, Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) and Pakistan Technology Evaluation Satellite-1A (PakTES-1A), were propelled into space through the Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle.
The first satellite PRSS-1 would be used for land resources survey, evaluation, dynamic monitoring and management, resource utilization, environmental disaster monitoring, agricultural survey, and urban construction.
The second test satellite launched was a PAK-TES-1A, developed by Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) to enhance satellite manufacture capabilities in the country.