Tilla Satellite Launch Centre, primary known as Tilla Range, is a spaceport west of

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

city in

Punjab (Pakistan) Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

. The facility is also known as Mashhood Test Firing Range (MTFR). The spaceport has been used as a launch site for the Hatf and Ghauri

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

s under development by the Khan Research Laboratories.

Location

Tilla is an eastward continuation of the

Salt Range The Salt Range ( pnb, ) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north of the Jhelum River. The ...

Jhelum District Jhelum District (Urdu and pnb, ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, 3,242 feet above the sea. From the Bunha torrent the range rises rapidly to the culminating peak of Tilla Jogian and thence sinks as rapidly, but a series of low parallel ridges runs out across the valley of the Kahan. During British Rule, the hill was sometimes used as a summer resort by officers of Jhelum District. A famous monastery of Jogi

fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...

s is situated here.

History

The exact timing of construction of Tilla Satellite Launch Centre is unknown and unclear. According to science sources from Pakistan, it is believed that the spaceport was built and indigenously constructed by

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 ...

sometime in 1989. The space facility is based on the model of Chinese space and missile sites, notably Base 603 and

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) also known as ''Base 25'' (), is a People's Republic of China space and defense launch facility (spaceport). It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province and is the second of four launch ...

. TSLC is a defence launch facility ( spaceport). The facility has been used by Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and

China National Space Administration China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...

(CNSA). The spaceport is usually used to launch vehicles into lower and medium orbits with large orbital inclination angles, as well as testing medium to long-range missiles. Its facilities are state of the art and provide support to every phase of a satellite launch campaign. The site includes the Technical Centre, high-powered radar system, laser-powered radar and telecommunication complex, the Launch Complex, the Launch Control Centre, the Mission Command and Control Centre, several launch pads, and various other logistical support systems. The spaceport was upgraded by

in 1998. The spaceport consists of a

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 ...

, missile control system, airborne warning, satellite control room, laser-satellite control system, aerospace control system, electrical communication and information office. The site is also defended by

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

to protect the facility and its scientists from any airborne threat.

References

{{Use Pakistani English, date=January 2014 Jhelum District Space programme of Pakistan Spaceports Rocket launch sites SUPARCO facilities Pakistan federal departments and agencies