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Pakistan eyes improved disaster response with new satellite
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Pakistan is set to launch another remote‑sensing satellite from a Chinese launch centre next week, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) announced on Sunday. The satellite will enhance Earth observation capabilities to support national resource management and bolster disaster response systems.
The new satellite, set to launch from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) on July 31, is expected to serve a broad range of national priorities — from precision agriculture and urban planning to infrastructure monitoring, transport network mapping, and hazard risk assessment. It will also bolster disaster preparedness by providing real-time alerts for floods, earthquakes, landslides, glacier melt, and deforestation.
SUPARCO stated that integration of this satellite with PRSS‑1 (launched July 2018) and EO‑1 (January 2025) will reinforce Pakistan's space-based ecosystem under the National Space Policy and Vision 2047, aiming to position the country as a leader in regional space technology.
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With versatile data-acquisition capacities under various environmental conditions, the satellite will be launched from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) under a bilateral space cooperation framework.
Pakistan's space programme has witnessed several milestones in the last two years. In January 2025, China placed Pakistan's EO‑1 satellite in orbit, designed to enhance resource monitoring and disaster prediction.
In May 2024, its first lunar satellite was deployed aboard China's Chang'e‑6 mission, and later plans include participation in China's Chang'e‑8 lunar exploration project.
