Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite

The Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRS), commercially known as Remote Sensing Satellite System (RSSS) is a dual purpose Earth observational and optical satellite which is schedule to launch in 2014 for the replacement of Badr-II satellite.

History
After successful launching and operation of Badr satellite programme which contained the experimental Low Earth Observational satellites in the 1990s and early 2000s, SUPARCO launched the work on the high resolution Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSSS) to meet the national and international user requirements in the field of satellite imagery.

The PRS program is planned to be a progressive and sustainable program with an initial plans to launch an optical satellite with payload of 2.5 meter PAN in 700 km sun-synchronous orbit by the end of year 2014, which will be followed by a series of optical and SAR satellites in future. Necessary infrastructure for ground control and image reception and processing is also planned to be set up. The satellite is underdevelopment process and it is being developed by SUPARCO.

Launch date
In 2012, the first satellite project has been completed and the development of the satellite is "inches towards its first imaging satellite", according to the Suparco officials speaking to the The Express Tribune. Suparco set up its own version of Global navigation satellite system (GNS) and immediately acquired the Beidou navigation system of China for this satellite in September 2012. According to Suparco, the satellite is scheduled to be launch in 2014, and it is visioned to provide help in exploiting the potentials of space technologies for natural resource surveying and environmental monitoring.