Haq's Musings

Riaz Haq writes this data-driven blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on many topics. Subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia, South Asian community, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://www.southasiainvestor.com and a YouTube video channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrIDyFbC9N9evXYb9cA_gQ

Showing posts with label Satellites. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

HS-1 Satellite: Pakistan's Eye in the Sky

HS-1 is Pakistan's first hyper-spectral satellite which is equipped with advanced hyperspectral imaging sensors capable of capturing data across hundreds of narrow spectral bands. The satellite lifted off from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Kinetica-1 rocket. It is expected to boost Pakistan's national capacities in areas such as precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, urban planning, and disaster management. Its high-resolution data will support improved resource management and strengthen Pakistan’s resilience to climate-related challenges.

Though the HS-1 satellite is primarily aimed at civilian applications, it will also have significant intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability for military applications. It is much more advanced than Pakistan's PRSS-1 satellite launched in 2018 which senses objects on earth in the optical RGB (Red-Green-Blue) range. The HS-1's high-resolution data will support improved resource management and assist the Pakistani military's efforts to monitor events on the ground.

In addition to the HS-1 satellite, Pakistan has signed a $406 million deal with China’s PIESAT for a constellation of over 20 imaging and communication satellites, a move that signals a profound shift in its strategic posture, according to defense site Quwa. The deal includes a full transfer-of-technology (ToT) for in-country satellite manufacturing. It is poised to provide the Pakistani military with a sovereign, persistent imaging intelligence (IMINT) capability. Here's an excerpt from the Quwa website:

"While PIESAT’s official data states a resolution of 0.5 meters, Chinese media reports indicate a larger 54-satellite version of the constellation could achieve a global revisit rate of just 60 minutes. For Pakistan, its initial 20-satellite acquisition implies a clear intent to establish a persistent regional surveillance net with revisit rates well under one day, fundamentally changing its ability to monitor adversary movements".

Space science is a lot more than rocket science. It goes well beyond building booster rockets for satellite launches. It includes various fields like physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, and engineering to study phenomena in space and collect and analyze data about activities on earth. Pakistan-China space cooperation is yet another confirmation of the close and growing scientific ties between the two countries. Tens of thousands of Pakistani students are currently attending Chinese universities which are among the best in the world. Thousands of Pakistani engineers and scientists are closely working with their Chinese counterparts on multiple projects. It is a great opportunity for Pakistanis to learn from astounding scientific and technological achievements of their Chinese counterparts.

Chinese researchers dominate global AI research, according to Marco Polo which tracks global AI talent. China dominates the top 10 science institutions, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Tsinghua University taking the top three spots, according to the Science Journal Nature. Only two non-Chinese institutions broke into the top 10 – the Max Planck Society in Germany at No 4 and the French National Center for Scientific Research at No 10. The top three US institutions – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Stanford University – were ranked at 13th, 16th and 20th, respectively.

Analysts believe that China's real focus is on industrial applications for Artificial Intelligence (AI) rather than chatbots like ChatGPT or DeepSeek. Chinese are working to use the underlying technology to develop affordable, commercially viable business solutions, according to Jacob Dreyer who recently wrote an article for science journal Nature. "Its applications can then be exported, especially to lower-income countries. In other words, China’s target is not necessarily ‘frontier AI’, but ‘mass-market AI’. Its emerging AI playbook mirrors its approach to other technologies, such as electric vehicles and clean energy: not the first to innovate, but the first to make them affordable for widespread use".

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Pakistan to License Multiple LEO Satellite Internet Service Providers

The Pakistan government is preparing to license three low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite operators for space communication services in the country, according to media reports. The companies whose applications are pending include London-based OneWeb, China's Shanghai Spacecom and US headquartered Starlink. They operate tens of thousands of small mass-produced satellites in low orbits that communicate with designated (mobile and stationary) ground stations. Each LEO satellite circles the earth in 128 minutes or less. The critical importance of the services they offer has recently become apparent in the Ukraine War being waged in Europe and the ongoing disaster response in the areas devastated by the California wildfires. Such services are essential for any area, remote or otherwise, where the land-based infrastructure either does not exist or it has been destroyed by war or natural disasters.

Representation of low, medium and geosynchronous orbits. Source: MIT

Pakistan has established a regulatory framework consisting of two bodies: the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA). Each space telecom operator must first get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the PSARB and then a license from the PTA to operate in Pakistan. The government has reiterated its commitment to fostering digital inclusion through the PSARB, which was established to regulate satellite-based services. Industry experts emphasize that accelerating the approval process is essential for leveraging LEO technologies to boost the country’s digital transformation, according to The News.

The LEO satellite industry has become highly competitive, with several companies competing for market share. Some of the key players in the industry include SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon and Shanghai Spacecom, all of which are working to develop and launch their constellations of LEO satellites for various applications such as broadband, internet, remote sensing, and satellite communication, according to the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center.

Initial prices announced by Starlink for Pakistan range from the lowest Rs. 2,000 per month for 2 MPS to Rs. 8,700 per month for 10 MBPS. OneWeb is partnering with VEON to offer Internet access packages but no pricing has yet been announced. Shanghai Spacecom has registered in Pakistan but no pricing is available so far. Hopefully, the competition among the three players will benefit consumers in terms of lower pricing and higher bandwidth availability. It will also reduce the digital divide in the country.