Badr A

Badr A [SUPARCO]

Badr-A was the first pakistani satellite.

Badr-A was launched on the 16th of July 1990 from a Chinese CZ-2E launcher alongside a Aussat-B-MFS dummy payload into a 201 × 984 km orbit inclined at 28.4�, and was built by SUPARCO in Pakistan.

The spacecraft weighed 52 kg. It had 26 facets, and was electrically based on UoSAT-2. It carried Store and Forward transponder in the 144-146 MHz and 435-436 MHz bands.

The project objectives were:

• To acquire know-how for indigenous development of satellites to create infrastructure for future satellite development activities
• To test the performance of indigenously developed satellite subsystems in space environment
• To perform experiments in real-time voice and data communications between two user ground stations
• To demonstrate store-and-forward type message communication
• To educate the country's academic, scientific and amateur community in the tracking and use of low-earth-orbiting satellites

It was originally planned for launch on a Shuttle mission in 1986, but was delayed due to the Challenger dissaster. Instead it was moved to the maiden flight of the Chinese CZ-2E rocket.

Contact was lost on the 20 August 1990 due to what is believed to be an electrical failure.