Pakistan is quietly accelerating the pace of its space ambitions. On April 22, two Pakistani men – Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daudboth pilots in the Pakistani Air Force, were selected for training in Beijing, an important step in the scientific history of their country. The two aspiring astronauts undergo extensive training at the China Astronaut Center; one of them will be the first Pakistani astronaut to go to space on an official mission and the first foreign national to board China’s Tiangong space station. The Tiangong is China’s response to the International Space Station after the United States blocked China from becoming part of the ISS.
The Pakistani astronaut will not be a token stowaway, but rather an integral part of the Tiangong team as a working scientist expected to work on microgravity experiments, operate specialized equipment and respond to emergencies in orbit. Departure for the mission is planned for the end of 2026.
For its part, Pakistan is facing galloping inflation, soaring energy prices and bills, insurgencies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as border clashes with India and Afghanistan. In 2023, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index Pakistan downgraded to the status of an authoritarian regime due to the encroaching powers of the Pakistani army on politics.
Amid all this turmoil, Pakistan is aiming for the stars. In addition to the upcoming mission that will send a Pakistani to the Chinese space station, Pakistan’s space agency – the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) – has been quietly launching satellites at an unprecedented pace: five indigenous satellites in the past 16 months.
Pakistan is rarely associated with technological ambition. SUPARCO has remained largely underfunded and stagnant for more than two decades, constantly overshadowed by its neighbors, particularly the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). This makes recent developments all the more surprising.
The first satellite launch took place in January 2025 when SUPARCO launched PRSC-EO1the first electro-optical Earth observation satellite built in Pakistan. In February 2026, a second electro-optical satellite, EO-2, was launched. Both took off from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Then in April 2026, SUPARCO launched the EO-3the most advanced of the three, from the Taijuan Satellite Launch Center. The EO-3 carries an AI-powered onboard computer that can process images in real time instead of the old model of transmitting raw data to a ground station. The EO-3 satellite also features a multi-geometry imaging module for increased precision and an advanced energy storage system, both manufactured in-house by SUPARCO.
Between these three observation satellites, Pakistan also launched its first hyperspectral satellitecalled HS-1, in October 2025. HS-1 is capable of analyzing hundreds of light bands to accurately detect mineral deposits, crop growth and environmental changes caused by climate change.
In July 2025, the KS-1 was launched from the Xichang satellite center. The KS-1 is a high-resolution remote sensing satellite capable of providing images 24 hours a day. With these five launches, Pakistan now has seven satellites in orbit, which seemed far-fetched just a decade ago.
It is important to note that none of Pakistan’s recent space achievements would be possible without China’s help. Pakistani astronaut candidates are being trained by China for a mission to a Chinese space station. Every recent satellite launch has been carried out from a Chinese facility. The most ambitious and technologically demanding space mission for SUPARCO – the lunar rover programscheduled to land in 2028 – will rely on Chinese technological and technical assistance.
This is not a purely transactional launch service and technical contract; rather, the level of cooperation highlights the depth of Sino-Pakistani relations. Pakistan will become the first foreign country to send an astronaut to China’s Tiangong station in a geopolitical milestone. This situation has received less attention on the world stage than it deserves. It also has strategic value for Beijing, as Pakistan is a Muslim-majority country with ties to both the West and the Gulf. Pakistan’s participation could help China position the Tiangong as a better alternative to the US-led ISS.
However, recent developments also demonstrate the structural anchoring of Pakistan’s space ambitions in China’s own agenda. Critics call SUPARCO’s collaboration with China a dependency because Pakistan relies heavily on proven Chinese designs rather than conducting its own research. Pakistan must change its trajectory, otherwise it will never progress towards deeper technological achievements.
SUPARCO was a pioneer in the first decade after its founding in 1961. It was then hit by continued decades of underfunding, political neglect, nepotism, military coups, brain drain and corruption. Pakistan’s space program still faces the same financial, industrial and academic constraints that have haunted it since the Cold War. Pakistani universities lack the technical expertise to provide advanced education in space technologies, while public investment priorities are perpetually distorted by debt servicing and military spending.
SUPARCO’s development budget for 2025-2026 was 5.4 billion rupees ($19.2 million), which was later revised downward to 4.5 billion rupees following cuts to meet IMF demands for its latest bailout. For comparison, ISRO’s budget is around $1.6 billion, meaning ISRO spends SUPARCO’s entire annual budget in four days.
The national arguments for the development of space technology write themselves. Pakistan is chronically under-equipped to manage its climate vulnerabilities, as demonstrated by the catastrophic floods of 2022 that submerged a third of Pakistan. The new satellites are SUPARCO’s solution for disaster monitoring and response, urban and rural planning, agricultural monitoring and glacier monitoring, among other uses.
More importantly, from a security perspective, these satellites are Pakistan’s answer to India’s space program, although SUPARCO is still far from being close to ISRO. The Indian space program has more than 50 operational satellites. Its achievements include a landing at the lunar South Pole in 2023, anti-satellite missile tests and a planned fifth lunar mission with Japan.
Amer Ahsan GilaniSecretary of Pakistan Human Spaceflight Cooperation at SUPARCO, said: “Pakistan’s space program is in line with our national requirements; we are not in a race with contemporary countries. » The insistence that Pakistan is not competing with faceless rivals is telling.
Pakistan’s stakeholders must make a choice now: prioritize the future or remain too distracted by domestic crises to build something lasting.