Badr-B
Badr-B atop a Zenit-2 rocket, before the launch
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| Mission type |
Earth Observation Satellite Earth science |
|---|---|
| Operator | SUPARCO |
| COSPAR ID | 2001-056C |
| SATCAT no. | 27003 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 2 years |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer |
Space Innovations Limited Rutherford Laboratory Instrumentation Laboratory DESTO |
| Launch mass | 68.5 kilograms (151 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 December 2001, 17:18:57 UTC |
| Rocket | Zenit-2 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 45/1 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Eccentricity | 0.0018975332 |
| Perigee | 986.0 kilometres (612.7 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,014.0 kilometres (630.1 mi) |
| Inclination | 99.7 degrees |
| Period | 105.0 minutes |
The Badr-B (Urdu: بدر-۲; also known as Badr-II, meaning Full Moon-2) is the second spacecraft and the first earth observation satellite launched into Earth orbit on 10 December 2001 at 09:15 by the SUPARCO — Pakistan's national space agency.Badr-B is a microsatellite, with a mass of ~70 kg, and contained the supercomputerized system to conduct the studies on the gravity gradient. Badr-B is a research satellite to explore the upper atmosphere and the near space, and carried a large array of instruments for geophysical research.
The Badr-B payload was equipped with several CCD cameras, compact dosimeter, a telemetry system, charge detector and a temperature control unit. It is intended to complete and update the Islamabad Mission Control Center (IMCC), and to test the remote sensing CCD instruments.
The Badr-B project was launched by Suparco in 1992, following the success of the Badr-I in 1990. The programme was funded by Science Ministry and the construction of the programme was completed in Instrumentation Laboratories in Karachi. The United Kingdom's Space Innovation Limited, plc (SIL) also joined this programme in 1993 as it had constructed the instrumentation of this satellite. The Badr-B was slightly bigger than the Badr-I as compare to weight and mass. Most of the equipments were developed at the DESTO and the spacecraft designing took place in Instrumentation Laboratories in Karachi. The Space Innovation Limited took the contribution in providing the technical assistance required for assembling the Badr-B. A Mission control center was established at the Islamabad where several supercomputers and its systems were installed by Space Innovation Limited. In 1995, a computer system and the system software was designed and installed by Pakistan Software Export Systems (PSES) while COMSATS helped installing the large computer screen at the Islamabad mission control center. Overall, the work on Badr-B was completed in 1996 by Suparco and it was originally planned to launch from Tilla Launch Complex but it was objected as the country had no launch facility at that time. The CCD cameras were developed by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) who took the interest in the development of the Badr-B in 1995.
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