A ceremony was organised by the Islamabad Citizens Committee to mark the launch of SUPARCO’s first space rocket by Pakistan on June 7, 1962.
A ceremony was organised by the Islamabad Citizens Committee to mark the launch of SUPARCO’s first space rocket by Pakistan on June 7, 1962.
According to a press release on Wednesday, ICC President Syed M Siddiq Hasan presented certificates and special shields to those who were instrumental in the first rocket launch, including Dr. Tariq Mustafa and Saleem Mehmud, the former chairs of SUPARCO.
Dr. Tariq Mustafa and Salim Mahmoud highlighted the achievement during their speeches, noting that Pakistan was the second country after the United States to launch a rocket into space in 1962.
According to them, Pakistan was the first developing country in the Muslim world to reach the milestone. Additionally, they discussed the formation of SUPARCO (Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission) and how it completed the specific task in record time.
Both of the mission’s founders told the audience how much they still valued those memories. Both Waqar Butt, vice president of the Pakistan Nuclear Society, and Anwer Habib, a former chairman of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), praised the historic significance of the rocket launch. According to Syed Siddiq Hasan, they will keep honouring their national heroes.
Unmanned space flight programme on June 7, 1962 was one of SUPARCO’s earliest and most notable accomplishments . With American assistance, SUPARCO conducted research to create the first solid-fuel expendable rockets.
On June 7, 1962, SUPARCO launched the first unmanned solid-fuel rocket and made its first space flight from the Sonmiani Terminal Launch, setting a record in the process.
A team led by Air Commodore (Brigadier-General) WJM Turowicz of the Polish Air Force developed the rocket in collaboration with the Air Force. As the third nation in Asia and the tenth in the world to conduct a successful spaceflight, Pakistan earned the moniker Rehbar-I (lit., One who leads the way”).