China to Assist Pakistan in its Ambitious Space Program: Fawad Chaudhry

Days after announcing Pakistan’s first human-crewed space mission scheduled for 2022, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has now outlined the details of the space program.

Talking to a local newspaper, Fawad dispelled any uncertainty about Pakistan’s space program. He said,

Yes, launching even a satellite is costly. But there is no difficulty now as the mission that we are planning is a collaborative one with China.

ALSO READ

Govt to Send First Pakistani to Space in 2022: Fawad Chaudhary

Talking about the potential cost, he said that several factors such as procurement and development of the necessary infrastructure and technology will spell out the actual cost of the program.

The minister was confident that with Beijing’s help and a few million dollars, the program will be a success.

Fawad explained that the space mission will be carried out in collaboration with Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

He said the PAF will shortlist 50 candidates from its pool of fighter pilots in the initial phase. The list will be revised to 25 potential candidates.

ALSO READ

SUPARCO to Monitor BRT Buses from Space

He maintained that the practice is based on international standards as the astronauts all over the world usually have an air force background.

Air force pilots are understood to have the necessary fitness, training, and experience for such missions and as such, are considered optimal candidates.

While PAF finalizes the potential astronauts, Suparco would finish other projects associated with the 2022 mission.

The minister criticized the previous government for their lack of interest in Pakistan space program. He reflected that Pakistan was only the second Asian country after the Soviet Union (Russia) to have launched a space program.

ALSO READ

Apollo 11 Mission: Relive Man’s First Moon Landing On Its 50th Anniversary Today

We launched ours in 1962 under Dr. Abdus Salam’s guidance. Sadly our governments did not take much interest in it. Some countries have reached Mars since, but we have lagged.

When asked about the utility of the program at a time when the country is facing an economic crisis, Fawad said, the development of the space mission will directly benefit other sectors.

Via: Tribune