Badr-I

Badr-1 (, meaning ''Full Moon-A'') was the first artificial and the first digital communications satellite launched by Pakistan's national space authority — the SUPARCO — in 1990. The ''Badr-1'' was Pakistan's first indigenously developed and manufactured digital communications and an experimental artificial satellite which was launched into low Earth orbit by Pakistan on 16 July 1990, through a Chinese carrier rocket. The launch ushered new military, technological, and scientific developments in Pakistan and also provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. Originally planned to be launched from the United States in 1986, the ''Challenger disaster'' further delayed the launch of the satellite which changed the plan. After the People's Republic of China offered Pakistan to use its facility, the ''Badr-1'' was finally launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in 1990 on Long March 2E. ''Badr-1'' travelled at , taking 96.3 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals at the 145 to 435 MHz bands which were operated by Pakistan Amateur Radio Society (PARS). The ''Badr-1'' successfully completed its designed life, and a new satellite was proposed to be developed.

Before the launch

The history of the ''Badr-1'' project dated back to 1979, when Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched their first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975. After four years, on 13 December 1979, Munir Ahmad Khan managed a cabinet-level meeting with Chief Martial Law Administrator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and gained SUPARCO's status as an executive authority. In 1981, Salim Mehmud addressed Munir Ahmad Khan proposing the development of an Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, the task previously achieved by India. Munir Ahmad Khan took the matter to General Zia-ul-Haq who gave approval of this project. As part of the development of this project, SUPARCO sent a number of its engineers to University of Surrey to participate in the development of UO-11 which was launched in 1984. After participating in various projects with University of Surrey, the team returned to Pakistan in 1986. Munir Ahmad Khan then returned to General Zia-ul-Haq and obtained his approval to begin practical work on Badr-1. The project was started by SUPARCO's Dr. Salim Mehmud as director of the project and was supported by the members of Pakistan Amateur Radio Society. The SUPARCO began building the satellite at the Instrumentation Laboratories (IL), with Dr. Muhammad Riaz Suddle serving as its project manager. This project was called "''Project Badr''" and was initially funded by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Ministry of Science. In short span of time first satellite of the project named ''Badr-1'' was developed.

Design

The technical director of ''Badr-1'' was Dr. Salim Mehmud, Director of SUPARCO and the project was overseen by Dr. Muhammad Riaz Suddle, who served as its project manager. The satellite was slightly bigger than Soviet ''Sputnik 1'' satellite in size. The ''Badr-1'' was an indigenously built and developed satellite of Pakistan. The major contractor was Instrumentation Laboratories and the Pakistan Amateur Radio Society, supported by Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Telecommunications. The satellite shaped as a polyhedron with 26 surfaces or facets, was about 20 inches in diameter. The polyhedrons, covered with highly polished heat shield, made of aluminium-magnesium-titanium. The satellite carried two antennas designed by Instrumentation Laboratories. The power supply, with a mass of 52 kg. The satellite was powered with solar power panels with a 12.5 W electricity. The satellite was designed in SUPARCO's Satellite Research and Development Center in Lahore. The satellite had one radio channel for digital store-and-forward communications.

A transponder uplink was near 435 MHz, and the downlink was near 145 MHz. The telemetry beacon was near 145 MHz. Data from 32 telemetry channels, including information from 9 temperature sensors, 16 current sensors, and 5 voltage sensors, was stored in an 8k memory bank and transmitted at 1200, 600, 300 and 150 baud. Originally designed for a circular orbit at 250–300 miles' altitude, Badr-1 actually was inserted by the Long March rocket into an elliptical orbit of 127–615 miles. The cost of development and preparation of satellite was no more than Rs. 1.2 million.

Launch vehicle preparation and launch site selection

The SUPARCO negotiated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the launch of the satellite and approval required from the United States Government for the launch of the ''Badr-1''. The Air Force Strategic Command decided to fly the satellite by using one of its C-130 aircraft in 1986 to Florida, United States. The '' Delta 3000'' was selected by NASA's administration as its launch vehicle. Preparation was made and its crew and satellite was stored at the aircraft, however, it was delayed for unknown reasons. The ''Badr-1'' was never shipped to United States and its launch was delayed for until next four years. As aftermath of the Challenger disaster in 1986, the United States Government and NASA had halt all the flights of the rockets carrying spacecraft and satellite payloads until the investigations were thoroughly completed. The satellite was stored at the Instrumentation Laboratories (IL) and SUPARCO began to negotiate with other space powers. In 1990, representatives of Chinese government offered Government of Pakistan to launch the satellite on one of its Long March Rockets and its facility. SUPARCO did not want to wait any longer, therefore, the satellite was flown to People's Republic of China in sub-assembled form. SUPARCO official's re-assembled the satellite at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The satellite was loaded at the Launch Area 2 and final preparations were made. The Chinese Government used Long March 2E, a three-stage orbital carrier rocket designed to commercial communications satellites, to launch the ''Badr-1'' who also took its first maiden flight with the launch of ''Badr-1'' on 16 July 1990.

Launch and mission

On 16 July 1990, the ''Badr-1'' was launched as a secondary payload on a Long March 2E rocket from Area No. 2 at XSLC. ''Badr-1'', a low-Earth orbit satellite, circled the Earth's orbit every 96 minutes, passing over Pakistan for 15 minutes three to four times a day. Scientists, engineers, technicians, and designers who developed the satellite watched the launch from range. They waited about 93 minutes to ensure that the satellite had made one orbit and was transmitting, before dr. M. Shafi Ahmad called Prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The downlink telemetry included data on temperatures inside and on the surface of the sphere. The satellite itself, a small but highly polished polyhedron, was barely visible at sixth magnitude, and thus more difficult to follow optically. The satellite completed its designated life successfully. On the first orbit, the SUPARCO globally announced the launch of the satellite, and the Science ministry confirmed the launch of the satellite. As the satellite completed its life, a new project was launched, more ambitious, advanced, and difficult than ''Badr-1''. However, even after the ''Badr-1'' was completed, the satellite could not be able to launch until 2001.

Achievement

With the successful development and launch of the ''Badr-1'', Pakistan became the first Muslim country, and second South Asian country after India, to place a satellite in orbit. The satellite gave Pakistani scientists an academic, scientific, and an amateur community experience in telemetry, tracking, control and data communications as the satellite successfully completed store and dump message tests for 5 weeks.

Despite the international success gained, the Pakistan's accomplishments were kept quiet in the homeland to prevent any exploitation of their failures or loss of secrets, which undermined the propaganda opportunity. The Pakistan Television, a state-controlled media authority, announced the first launch in televisions never made a headline, and only fewer details were projected. The ''Badr-1'' crushed the global perception about the space program, and the space program was only dedicated to its military applications.

The satellite formed the derivatives and the basis of the Badr-B satellite. The Badr-B was more sophisticated than Badr-1, with a CCD camera for pictures of Earth and a system that allowed ground stations to change the satellite's direction in space.

Mission goals

* Acquiring know-how for indigenous development of satellites
* Creating an infrastructure for future satellite development activities
* Testing the performance of indigenously developed satellite subsystems in space environment
* Performing experiments in real-time voice and data communications between two user ground stations
* Demonstrating store-and-forward type message communication
* Educating the country's academic, scientific and amateur community in the tracking and use of low-earth-orbiting satellites

Technical configuration

See also

* Badr-B
* Badr (satellite)
* Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission

References

External links

Official SUPARCO site




ARRL site

{{Orbital launches in 1990

Satellites formerly orbiting Earth
Badr satellites
History of science and technology in Pakistan
First artificial satellites of a country
Government of Benazir Bhutto
China–Pakistan relations
Spacecraft launched in 1990
Communications satellites of Pakistan