Space: Above and Beyond

The field of space and planetary astrophysics remains relatively obscure amongst academic disciplines taught in Pakistan, but with India recently having launched its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the onus is now on the second-largest country in South Asia to make similar steps.

Unfortunately, the history of Pakistan’s space program has been chequered at best. Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam is credited for being the driving force behind the establishment of a national space authority after his recommendation to Ayub Khan to do so. The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) was subsequently inaugurated on September 16, 1961 and launched its first satellite, the Rebhar-I, shortly after with collaboration with the air force. Pakistan became the third country in Asia and tenth in the world to launch a rocket into orbit, thereby marking its glory days.

Subsequent bureaucratisation and infighting led to resources being siphoned away from SUPARCO and into the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), which was spearheading the atomic bomb project. Administrative lapses also meant that key personnel were transferred away from the space authority and non-technical personnel were placed in important positions. Further embarrassment came when Pakistan was unable to meet its launch timelines for satellites and was forced to rely on Chinese assistance in order to maintain its presence in the galaxy. In many ways the fortunes of SUPARCO and that of space science in general, have mirrored the path that Pakistan has forged on its way to progress.