Pakistan’s communication satellite will be launched into space by China in the coming days. The satellite, PAKSAT-1R (commercially known as PAKSAT-1Replacement) will be carried by a Long March-3B carrier rocket, a spokesman for the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province stated.
PAKSAT-1R will replace PAKSAT-1 which is expected to complete its useful life this year.
PAKSAT-1R carries communications payload to facilitate the introduction of a range of new services, including broadband Internet, digital television broadcasting, remote and rural telephony,emergency communications, tele-education and tele-medicine. The satellite is expected to have 15 years lifespan, and will be operated from Suparco Satellite Ground Station.
The satellite will support all conventional and modern Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) applications. The satellite will have a total of up to 30 transponders: 18 in Ku-band and 12 in C-band. To ensure high degree of reliability / availability of the system, two (02) fully redundant Satellite Ground Control Stations (SGCS) would be established in Karachi and Lahore, one to act as the Main and the other as Backup respectively.