Pak-China coop in space tech

Dr Lutfur Rehman BEIJING—Islamabad friendship entered a new phase when two Pakistani astronauts, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were selected for a space mission and will go to China for training at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing after comprehensive medical, psychological and aptitude tests under international criteria. After completion of training, either of them will undertake spaceflight this year, becoming the first-ever foreign astronaut to board a Chinese spacecraft and conduct scientific experiments in space under the bilateral “Astronaut Cooperation Agreement” signed in Islamabad last year. This marks a watershed in Pakistan’s manned space mission as Pakistan joins a small group of nations engaged in human spaceflight. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked China, calling it possible due to the “ironclad China-Pakistan brotherhood.” Pakistan started focusing on space exploration after the (former) Soviet Union sent its first satellite, Sputnik-1 in 1957. A committee was set up for this purpose in 1961 on the advice of a prominent scientist and the first Pakistani Noble Prize Winner, Dr. Abdus Salam. The committee was then named as Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Pakistan sent its first rocket, Rehbar-1 in the upper atmosphere, 130 km above the earth in 1962 and became the third country in Asia and the tenth on the global level to achieve this distinction. In the subsequent month, another rocket, Rahbar-II, was also launched and this process continued till 1972. Unfortunately, this tempo was broken and no attention was paid to space exploration in the coming years, which caused losses to Pakistan. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocated five slots to Pakistan in 1984, but it did not launch any satellite even after an extension, thus losing four space slots. As the country lagged behind, it sought Chinese help and launched its first satellite, Badr-1, in July 1990 from Xichang Satellite Laun