SUPARCO and ISRO, A Comparative Study
On June 17, 1973, the Apollo 17 and its moon landing astronauts Eugene A Cernan (Commander), Ronald E Evans (Command Module Pilot) and Harrison H Schmitt (Lunar Module Pilot) were moving in a motorcade on the streets of Karachi, the famous Neil Armstrong and his wife in Lahore, Perhaps, trying to inspire the great nation of Pakistan with the pride attached to the space technology.
Many would ask that what is the need of space technology for a country like Pakistan, the answer is manifold. From the military perspective, this is the space technology that enables a country to launch missiles carrying nuclear or conventional warheads with high precision and accuracy. Moreover, the need to get information about the enemy’s military installations and deployments needs no more explanation. The same technology is used to broadcast satellite television channels and communication of armed forces in the times of war. Being an agricultural country, the need of remote sensing satellites for better land management, urban planning, food security, disaster management and water management is not deniable as well.
Similarly, on the weather front, Pakistan needs reliable information on weather forecast because of the fact that country loses billions every year because of sudden floods and water scarcity is another challenge. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide reliable navigation, positioning, timing, mapmaking, tracking, surveillance, disaster relief, earthquake and emergency services help much needed for a country like Pakistan.
In 2014, when the Russian Dnepr rocket pulled up 37 satellites into space the world record drum had already been beaten thrice in a single year. But no one knew that a country other than America would dare to beat that. A country where according to the World Bank out of 270,000,000 people, who live below the poverty line, only 21% have access to Latrines, 61% electricity and only 6% to tap water. A country which according to 2015 report by UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization is a home to world’s largest number of hungry people as 194.6 million of its population hardly find a onetime meal, India, our immediate neighbor, broke the Russian world record in February 2017.
This impressive world record was made by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) when its indigenous rocket with a payload of 1,377kg (104 satellites) left the spaceport of Sriharikota. The added honor to this attempt was the fact that out of 104, 96 nanosatellites belonged to a US space firm “Planet” and other including India’s 714kg earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 (PSLV-37) belonged to Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Israel, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. But where do we stand?
This is 1961, a year when the Soviet Union had beaten the United States of America by putting its first man in space. In the same year, a similar earth-shattering event is happening in Pakistan when it’s forgotten Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam is convincing president Ayub Khan in a framework of the subcontinent’s first space agency, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). This is a time after 8 years of which India had set up ISRO. Having cordial relations with the United States, Pakistan in that year sent its four top scientists to the NASA to study space technology. Pakistanis learned the complexity of the field so fast that after one year they were successful in launching the first Pakistani rocket Rehbar I from Karachi and became the third Asian and the first South Asian country to launch rocket after Israel and Japan. India followed the move immediately and launched its first rocket in 1963.
But since then the ISRO has outclassed the SUPRARCO in a way that today it is decades ahead from the whistleblower in missions accomplishment and technology advancement.
India has developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its successor, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), Indian Remote Sensing (IRS), Indian National Satellite (INSAT) and now with the launch of Earth Observation satellite stands among the ranks of world’s five top space agencies.
According to Techimos ranking of world’s top space agencies, NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (USA) is on the top, RosCosmos (Russia), CNSA – China National Space Administration, ESA – European Space Agency, ISRO – Indian Space Research Organization, JAXA – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, CSA – Canadian Space Agency and ISA – Iran Space Agency come after. Our own SUPARCO stands nowhere.
SUPARCO in 1990 launched Badr-1, an experimental low earth orbiting satellite with the commitment of those who denied to leave it after the funding came to a halt. Our second satellite Badr-2 was launched in 2001 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan after a delay of 11 years. It was again an “experimental” satellite. It is pertinent to mention that the two orbital slots dedicated for Pakistan at 38E longitude and 41E longitude expired in 1994 as Pakistan could not launch Paksat satellites in the given time. Later the country filed an application for the allocation of five GSo slots (38E, 41E, 30E, 88E and 101E), granted but the condition was that if Pakistan could not launch Paksat until 2003 the priority slot 38E would expire because of its high demand.
The SUPARCO came to a halt when Gen Zia-ul-Haq visited its headquarters in 1984 and announced that Pakistan can no longer afford the Paksat project citing the lack of funds. The majority of the scientists left SUPARCO and it took 29 years until Pakistan could launch its first functional satellite in the space Paksat-1R. Although 17 years after the Zia visit, the country told the world that it had Paksat-1 in the space, but it was found that the satellite was actually leased from the Boeing Company at a cost of 5 million dollars, which made and launched it in 1996 for Indonesia as “Palapa C1” but after technical glitches leased the same to Pakistan after renaming it as “Paksat”. The investment on the satellite couldn’t bring any benefit as the satellite was dysfunctional. Ironically General Pervez Musharraf at that time addressed the journalists and said, “Congratulations! Our space program is far ahead than India”.
The only achievement it has on its hat is the successful launch of Paksat-1R but this even was not built indigenously. China, was its designer, builder, launcher and even funded the project except for the few components that were built by our own engineers. India, on the other hand, has launched as much as 60 satellites to date including the lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. Apart from the technological lead, the difference in the management of SUPARCO and ISRO tells the whole story itself. The former being led by the retired army generals and the later by the professional scientists.
Another wonder is our Mission 2040. As present on the agency’s website, the “mission” was approved by then PM Yousaf Raza Gillani which states, “We should be able to make, produce and launch our own satellite until 2040”. With this great mission, an ordinary Pakistani is hopeful that we will leave India far behind which until 2040 is planning to launch GSAT-9, GSAT-11, NISAR – A joint project between NASA and ISRO, Chandrayaan-2, Mangalyan- 2, Aditya-1 – A solar exploration program, Venus exploration and Reusable Launch Vehicle.
According to Maj Gen (retd) Ahmed Bilal, SUPARCO Chairman at present, the country’s scientists are on a “learning curve”. For an ordinary Pakistani, it seems that “learning never ends”. Bilal thinks that Pakistan needs to launch another communication satellite after Pakset-1R until 2021.
A country which managed to make an Atomic Bomb from trash is still unable to build and launch a successful satellite to date. It desperately needs many of them indigenously to ensure that its defense is in safer hands. Space is the fourth dimension of warfare today. Although many can say that the economic challenges, lack of interest, bad management and global sanctions on Pakistan have forced us on the tortoise speed but one must not forget that in presence of all these, we became the 1st Muslim and 7th World’s atomic power.
The only issue that is hindering us from excelling in the field of space technology is our set of priorities. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission “Mangalyaan” is successfully sending information from the Martian orbit. There is no dearth of talent in us and the support from countries like China is at our doorstep. There is an urgent need that the government shall focus on space technology. The management of SUPARCO must be given to the professional space scientists and its budget shall be increased according to the needs of the country and the organization. We have proved in the past that if the opportunity provided, this country can do wonders, we can still take the lead in the regional war on space technology.
Today, Pakistan is nowhere in education.
Pakistan is nowhere in elimination polio.
Pakistan is nowhere in the space race.
Where is Pakistan?
