China to assist Pakistan in construction of space centre and satellites

space released

According to a white paper on space released by the Chinese government on Friday, China would prioritise building a space centre and developing communication satellites for partner Pakistan over the next five years.

While China and Pakistan have a space exploration agreement, this is the first time China has formally confirmed that it will assist Islamabad in the construction of a space centre, the Pakistan Space Centre, which is expected to produce satellites.

China recently supplied Pakistan with new warships, demonstrating the key partners’ tight economic and military ties.

China’s space plans for the years 2021-25 were outlined in the policy paper, which included strengthening governance and protecting “its space activities, assets, and other interests,” as well as studying plans to build “a near-earth object defence system, and increase the capacity of near-earth object monitoring.”

China’s State Council Information Office produced a white paper titled “China’s Space Program: A 2021 Perspective.”

The report underlined its efforts to assist Pakistan in building its space programme under the heading “international collaboration.” The strategy paper stated that “it (China) will prioritise constructing communications satellites for Pakistan and working on the establishment of the Pakistan Space Centre and Egypt’s Space City.”

It did not provide any additional information about the space centre.

According to a report by Pakistan’s state-owned Associated Press, Pakistan announced plans in 2018 to construct the Pakistan Space Centre (PSC) to spearhead indigenous satellite development and manufacture.

According to the APP article, the PSC will be capable of manufacture, testing, system level assembly, integration, launch, and operations of numerous types of satellites.

In the last five years, China has completed “in-orbit delivery of the Pakistan Remote-Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1)” as well as providing satellites to Venezuela, Sudan, and Algeria, according to the Chinese strategy paper.

The PRSS 1 spacecraft was developed in China for Pakistan’s national space agency, SUPARCO, or Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, by DFH Satellite Company, a subsidiary of the China Academy of Space Technology.

China also collaborates on satellite navigation with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Africa, Algeria, and Thailand, according to the white paper.

During Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in 2019, China and Pakistan signed a space exploration pact (BRF).

According to sources, Egypt’s Space City is used to manufacture satellites and conduct space research.

Tianhe, China’s under-construction space station, is set to launch in 2022 as part of the country’s ambitious space programme.

China has launched six crewed missions and transported eleven men into space since 2003.

China has returned rock and soil samples from the moon’s surface to Earth and landed a six-wheeled robot on Mars in recent months; it also landed a vehicle on the moon’s far side in 2019.

According to Reuters, if completed, China’s space station will be the only option to the two-decade-old, US-led International Space Station (ISS), which may be retired in 2024.

For more Latest News Updates visit our website- https://www.eastnews.in/

For Arunachal Latest News updates Visit- https://www.eastnews.in/arunachal-pradesh-news/