Pakistan’s Satellite Reaches Orbit: A New Era in Space-Based Empowerment
A Milestone in Pakistan’s Space Journey
In late July 2025, Pakistan celebrated a major achievement: the successful launch and orbital insertion of its new Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1). Carried aboard China's Kuaizhou-1A rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, the satellite has now reached its designated orbit and commenced operations DawnIndia TodayApp.
According to SUPARCO and senior officials, PRSS-1 is fully operational with stable communication links and has already begun transmitting high-resolution imagery back to Earth AppGeo News.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal hailed the achievement as a symbol of the strategic friendship between Pakistan and China, describing it as “friendship higher than the skies” and noting the satellite’s value for national development The Daily CPEC.
What PRSS-1 Brings to the Table
PRSS-1 is designed as a state-of-the-art Earth observation satellite with advanced imaging capabilities intended for a diverse array of applications:
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Urban & Regional Planning: Detecting urban sprawl, infrastructure development, and assisting in regional planning initiatives.
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Disaster Preparedness & Response: Providing timely data crucial for responding to floods, earthquakes, landslides, and other hazards.
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Environmental Monitoring: Tracking climate change indicators like glacier melting and deforestation.
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Agriculture & Food Security: Monitoring crop health, enabling precision farming, and bolstering food security efforts.
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Support for CPEC & Infrastructure Planning: Mapping transport corridors, identifying geo-hazards, and enhancing resource allocation in major projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) AppGeo News
Context: Pakistan’s Expanding Space Program
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PRSS-1 (2018)
Launched in July 2018 from China, the original PRSS-1 satellite offered panchromatic and multispectral imaging with modest—yet valuable—resolutions of under 1 m and ~2.9 m, respectively. It served Pakistan’s needs in mapping, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and disaster management Wikipedia+1Jerusalem Post. -
PRSC-EO1 / EO-1 (2025)
On January 17, 2025, Pakistan launched its first domestically designed electro-optical satellite, the PRSC-EO1 (EO-1), using China’s Long March-2D rocket from Jiuquan ReutersQuwaWikipediaJerusalem Post.
This satellite is poised to provide high-resolution multispectral imaging (potentially sub-1 m), greatly enhancing capabilities in land mapping, agriculture, urban planning, environmental monitoring, and real-time disaster response ReutersQuwaWikipedia. -
ICUBE-Qamar (2024)
Earlier, in May 2024, Pakistan’s first lunar satellite, ICUBE-Qamar, was deployed as part of China’s Chang’e-6 mission. This nanosatellite entered lunar orbit and successfully transmitted images from the Moon’s surface, marking Pakistan’s foray into deep space exploration WikipediaDailymotion.
Summary Table
| Satellite | Launch Date | Launch Vehicle / Site | Purpose & Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRSS-1 (2018) | July 2018 | Chang Mech 2C, Jiuquan, China | Remote sensing: Panchromatic (0.98 m) & Multispectral (2.89 m) imaging for planning and monitoring. |
| PRSC-EO1 (2025) | Jan 2025 | Long March-2D, Jiuquan, China | Pakistan’s first domestically designed EO satellite; high-res multispectral imaging (~1 m). |
| PRSS-1 (2025) | July 2025 | Kuaizhou-1A, Xichang, China | Advanced remote sensing; supports urban planning, agriculture, disaster response, and CPEC projects. |
| ICUBE-Qamar (2024) | May 2024 | Chang’e-6, lunar mission | Moon orbiting nanosatellite; lunar imagery and technology demonstration. |
