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.
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