Pakistan's second satellite mission to be launched from China tomorrow

Pakistan is all set to send its second satellite mission into space on May 30 (Thursday), the country's national space agency said on Wednesday.

According to the Spa­ce and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), the multi-mission communication satellite, PAKSAT MM1, will be launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), China.

The to-be-launched satellite is designed and developed by the Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with Suparco.

“This satellite project is the hallmark of technological cooperation between China and Pakistan,” Suparco said in a statement.

Suparco said that the satellite will prove to be a stepping-stone in the transformation of the country into digital Pakistan.

“The satellite is expected to contribute to the establishment of a sophisticated communication network and help meet the growing demands of the telecom sector,” it added.

MM1 will provide various communication services like broadband internet, TV broadcasting, mobile bank hauling and VSAT connectivity

On May 3, the South Asian country launched its first-ever satellite moon mission iCube Qamar aboard Chang’E-6 Mission from the Wenchang space launch site, Hainan in China.

The student cube satellite was carried by China's Long March-5 rocket. The satellite made the country proud by entering into the lunar orbit on May 8.

Following the feat, Pakistan became the sixth country to bid for touching down on the Earth’s natural satellite.

While talking to a private news channel, IST informed that iCube-Qamar made three rounds around the moon.

According to IST, the iCube-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to take pictures and videos of the lunar surface.

Later, the satellite mission sent back the first image of the moon from lunar orbit on May 10.