The Badr-B ( ur, ; also known as Badr-II, meaning ''Full Moon-2'') is the second
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
and the first
earth observation satellite
An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...
launched into
Earth orbit
Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth ...
on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by the
SUPARCO
The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) ( ur, ) is the :Pakistan federal departments and agencies, executive and List of government space agencies, national space agency of Pakistan. It is headquartered at the capital city ...
— Pakistan's national space agency.
''Badr-B'' is a
microsatellite
A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organism's genome. ...
, with a mass of ~70
kg, and contained the computerized system to conduct the studies on the
gravity gradient
Gravity gradiometry is the study and measurement of variations ( anomalies) in the Earth's gravity field. The gravity gradient tensor is the spatial rate of change of gravitational acceleration; as acceleration is a vector quantity, with magnit ...
. ''Badr-B'' is a research satellite to explore the upper atmosphere and the near space, and carried a large array of instruments for
geophysical
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
research.
The ''Badr-B'' payload was equipped with several
CCD cameras, compact dosimeter, a telemetry system, charge detector and a temperature control unit.
It is intended to complete and update the
Islamabad Mission Control Center (IMCC), and to test the remote sensing CCD instruments.
Launch history
The ''Badr-B'' project was launched by Suparco in 1992, following the success of the ''
Badr-I
Badr-A ( ur, , meaning ''Full Moon-A'') was the first Satellite, artificial and the first digital communications satellite launched by Pakistan's national space authority — the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, SUPARCO — in 19 ...
'' in 1990.
The programme was funded by
Science Ministry and the construction of the programme was completed in Instrumentation Laboratories in Karachi. The United Kingdom's
Space Innovations Limited, plc (SIL) also joined this programme in 1993 as it had constructed the instrumentation of this satellite.
The ''Badr-B'' was slightly bigger than the ''Badr-I'' as compared to weight and mass. Most of the equipment was developed at the
DESTO Desto Records was an American record label. It was founded in 1951 by Horace Grenell who had a mail order business of selling children's records and was looking to expand genres.
The first issue was a three disc edition of '' The Beggars Opera''. I ...
and the spacecraft designing took place in Instrumentation Laboratories in Karachi. Space Innovations Limited took contributed technical assistance required for assembling the ''Badr-B''.
A
Mission control center was established at Islamabad where several
supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second ( FLOPS) instead of million instructions ...
s and its
systems
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...
were installed by Space Innovations Limited. In 1995, a computer system and the system software was designed and installed by
Pakistan Software Export Systems (PSES) while
COMSATS
The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) is an inter-governmental organization, having a membership of 25 developing countries and one non-state member from three continents, Latin America, Afri ...
helped installing the large computer screen at the Islamabad mission control center.
Overall, the work on ''Badr-B'' was completed in 1996 by Suparco and it was originally planned to launch from
Tilla Launch Complex but it was objected as the country had no launch facility at that time.
The CCD cameras were developed by the
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It began as the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory, merged with the Atlas ...
(RAL) who took the interest in the development of the ''Badr-B'' in 1995.
''Badr-B'' was developed in 1996 but the delay of Russian space-rocket put the satellite on hold for more than 4 years.
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...
unsuccessfully attempted to launch the satellite from the
Sonmiani Launch Complex using Ghauri-1 as the transportation vehicle which was denied by the government at that time.
In 2001, the
Air Force Strategic Command flew the ''Badr-B'' to
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
where it was launched from
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
on 10 December 2001 abroad a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Zenit-2
The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets and was designed by the Yuzhmash.
History
With 13–15 ...
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
.
Design
The economic cost of the ''Badr-B'' is not publicly known but it is estimated to be more costly than the first satellite, ''
Badr-I
Badr-A ( ur, , meaning ''Full Moon-A'') was the first Satellite, artificial and the first digital communications satellite launched by Pakistan's national space authority — the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, SUPARCO — in 19 ...
''.
For its design, the ''Badar-B'' is far more complex and sophisticated than the first satellite.
The external body of the ''Badr-B'' is made of
Space grade Aluminium alloy with a total mass of 70 kg.
''Badr-B'' was launched in a
sun-synchronous orbit
A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...
of 1050 km with an earth orbital period of 106 minutes.
''Badr-B'' is a cube with side dimensions of 510 mm x 510 mm x 465 mm and a gravity gradient vector system to stabilize the satellite to its mission control centre.
A typical orbital and terminal pass over to country's space orbit entry would last between 10 and 15 minutes.
''Badr-B'' internal structure was made of space qualified aluminium
T-6 alloy.
The
gallium arsenide
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a III-V direct band gap semiconductor with a Zincblende (crystal structure), zinc blende crystal structure.
Gallium arsenide is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monoli ...
(GaAs) solar arrays were used to provide and generate the
electronic power during the
sunlit periods.
The
nickel cadmium
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
(NiCd) batteries stored power for use during the
eclipse periods.
Earth pointing single axis stabilization was achieved by the use of a 6 m gravity gradient boom with a trip mass of 4 kg.
Launch plans and site selections
The Suparco set its deadline to launch the satellite in 1994 but, due to the satellite being upgraded time passed and Suparco lost the space
orbital entry slot.
Suparco then planned to ''Badr-B'' in 1995 or as early of 1996 but did not materialize the plan.
By 1996, ''Badr-B'' was completed and was ready to launch but due to
upcoming elections in 1997, the plan was put on hold.
Since Suparco has no launch complex, it began to hold talks with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Russia at the lowest rate.
In 1998, following the restrictions applied on Pakistan after it had conducted atomic tests (See ''
Chagai-I
Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province.
Chagai-I was Pakistan' ...
'' and ''
Chagai-II
Chagai-II is the codename assigned to the second atomic test conducted by Pakistan, carried out on 30 May 1998 in the Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. ''Chagai-II'' took place two days after Pakistan's first successful test, ...
''), Suparco was unable to launch the satellite, therefore putting the satellite in storage.
Delaying of the satellite's launch programme further frustrated the
scientific community
The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...
, therefore, Government of Pakistan launched the work on ''
Shaheen-III
The Shaheen-III (Urdu: ; lit. ''White Falcon-III'') is a Pakistani land-based surface-to-surface medium range ballistic missile, which was test fired for the first time by military service on 9 March 2015.
Development began in secrecy in the ear ...
'' and ''
Ghauri-III
The Ghauri-III (Urdu:غورى–ااا; Hatf-VIII), was a codename of a program to developed land-based surface-to-surface intermediate range ballistic missile in a response to India's Agni-III missile.
Development began in KRL as primarily ...
'' expendable rockets in 1998.
In 2001, senior scientist
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...
approached the Pakistan Government to receive permission to launch the satellite from either
Tilla Launch Complex or
Sonmiani Launch Complex.
However, then-
CMLA General
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
denied the request of Khan.
In 2001, the
Pakistan Academy of Sciences
The Pakistan Academy of Sciences ( ur, ) (abbreviated as: PAS), is a learned society of sciences, which described itself as "a repository of the highest scientific talent available in the country."
Established in 1953 in Lahore, Punjab, the A ...
held the
physics and mathematics conference on astrophysics in Pakistan where scientists from all over the country were invited to come to Nathiagali.
In a media interview given at Nathiagali, Abdul Qadeer Khan maintained that, "Pakistan has very robust nuclear
I.R.B.M. system which can launch
geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...
ing satellites. All Pakistan has to do is to erase
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
or
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
from the target and point it towards the sky. Instead of
Hydrogen bombs
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
and
Atomic bombs
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
, the missiles can easily carry a payload of an 80 kg satellite into the sky...".
Astrophysicist Shahid Kureshi also argued that
RBM RBM is a three-letter acronym. It refers to:
*89.1 Radio Blue Mountains, Radio station in Katoomba, New South Wales
*The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, the global framework to implement coordinated action against malaria.
*Restricted Boltzmann ...
missiles have very robust and effective electronics and computer system, the
">LV used the similar technology.
Taking part in this discussion,
Nuclear physicist
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 the ...
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (Urdu: ;;born 11 July 1950) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist who serves as a professor at the Forman Christian College and previously taught physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Hoodbhoy is also a promine ...
believed that "If we
akistancan launch a missile up to a range of 1,500 km, why not build an
LVthat can launch low-atmosphere satellites?".
Abdul Majid, an astrophysicist, countered the pressure in a media interview in 1999 given to ''
Dawn Newspapers'', and in his own words, Majid summed up that, "with Meteor-3M (a Soviet satellite), other four satellites one each from
akistan Malaysia, Morocco and the United States are to be mounted on the bigger Russian rocket. It was only the Pakistan's ''Badr-B'' satellite which had met the deadline set by the Russians. The deadline was in April. All the other satellites failed to meet the deadline".
Launch and mission
After receiving criticism from the scientific society, the Suparco succeeded in a talks held with
Russian Federal Space Agency
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
on a possible low rates.
The
PAF's
Air Force Strategic Command flew the satellite via ''
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
'' to
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. The ''Badr-B'' was taken to
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
along with Russian satellites which were also stored for the final assembly.
The ''Badr-B'', along with
Soviet built Meteor-3M, was installed at the
Zenit-2
The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets and was designed by the Yuzhmash.
History
With 13–15 ...
expandable rocket.
A high level delegation of Suparco headed by
Major-General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Raza Hussain arrived at the Baikonour Cosmodrome to witness the launch.
At 17:18UTC, the ''Badr-B'' was launched along with ''Meteor-3M'' with an ascending node time of about 09:15
Experiments
The ''Badr-B'' conduct four major ob-board experiments, including taking the snap shots of Earth images, and data storage and forwarding to its mission control center.
The ''Badr-B'' also used the radiation dosimeter to measure the exposure of
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
's
ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
and, also used to study the
electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical c ...
of Earth.
The ''Badr-B'' also conduct studies on charge battery when it is exposed to
Solar flare
A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other solar phe ...
and forwarded
Solar winds.
Expected results were sent to its mission control center in Islamabad.
Achievements
Overall, the ''Badr-B'' was an ambitious project that was intended to learn and developed the low-cost
EOS
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (; Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric ''Āṓs'') is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home at ...
satellites, and to build the infrastructure for larger satellites.
The ''Badr-B'' also gave the scientists to understand the usage of technology for earth imaging by using the CCD sensors; it also gave provided the scientists to enhance their studies conducted on how the solar flare effected the environment of Earth.
The ''Badr-B'' stimulated the research on astrophysics and astroparticle physics that encourage the scientific community to continue their research on peaceful uses of space.
However, its achievements was undermined after Suparco had lost the orbital slot in four consecutive years
The onward criticism also undermined Suparco's effort who built this satellite, and due to its long wait, the negative reception was perceived by scientific community.
Careful analysis of launch facilities and capabilities doubted if the space programme is on track.
With all criticism, in 2002, Suparco began to conduct further studies and launched the more ambitious and complex project which formed the basis derivatives of
Press system, later this programme was integrated with
Space programme 2040
The Space Programme 2040 is a satellite development and launch programme of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), Pakistan's space research authority. The Space programme 2040 intends to replace the Badr satellite programm ...
.
Under the
Space programme 2040
The Space Programme 2040 is a satellite development and launch programme of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), Pakistan's space research authority. The Space programme 2040 intends to replace the Badr satellite programm ...
, the ''Badr-B'' will be replaced with more complex and technologically advanced high-resolution satellite
PRSS-O1, which has been launched in 2018.
References
NASA links
*
*
{{Use Pakistani English, date=January 2014
Earth observation satellites of Pakistan
Satellites formerly orbiting Earth
Badr satellites
Spacecraft launched in 2001
Space programme of Pakistan
History of science and technology in Pakistan