Sonmiani Flight Test Range
{{Short description|Pakistani rocket launch facility}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Cleanup-rewrite|date=October 2024}}
{{other uses|Sonmiani Beach}}
{{Infobox Government agency
| agency_name = Sonmiani Flight Test Range
| nativename =
| logo =
| logo_width =
| seal =
| seal_width =
| picture =
| picture_width =
| picture_caption =
| formed = 1961
| date1 =
| date1_name =
| date2 =
| date2_name =
| preceding1 =
| preceding2 =
| parent_agency = Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
| headquarters = Sonmiani, Balochistan, Pakistan
| coordinates = {{coord|25|12|N|66|45|E|type:landmark_region:AR_dim:2000|display=title, inline}}
| pushpin_map = Pakistan
| pushpin_map_caption = Sonmiani Flight Test Range location in Pakistan
| employees =
| budget =
| chief1_name =
| chief1_position =
| chief2_name =
| chief2_position =
| child2_agency =
| website = [https://www.nti.org/education-center/facilities/sonmiani-flight-test-range-ftr/ NTI Sonmani FTR]
| footnotes =
| map = File:Hub-District-Map-with-Tehsils-complete.jpg
| map_width = 200px
| map_caption = Sonmani Flight Test Range though its accuracy is questionable.
}}
The Flight Test Range (FTR) at Sonmiani Beach is a rocket launch site in Balochistan, approximately {{convert|50|km|mi}} west of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.{{cite web |title=Sonmiani |url=http://www.astronautix.com/s/sonmiani.html |website=www.astronautix.com}}
The facility is operated by the Space Research Commission since 1961, initially focusing on supporting civilian space program involving the launch of sounding rockets but its present mission has now been moved towards military programs.{{rp|118}}Dinshaw, Mistry, Containing Missile Proliferation: Strategic Technology, Security Regimes, and International Cooperation in Arms Control (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003), p. 118{{cite web |title=Sonmiani Flight Test Range |url=https://www.nti.org/education-center/facilities/sonmiani-flight-test-range-ftr/ |access-date=19 March 2023}}
History
Initially established at Sonmiani Rocket Range{{cite web |title={{as written|Hist|roy [sic]}} |url=https://suparco.gov.pk/about-us/histroy/ |website=suparco.gov.pk |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023201344/https://suparco.gov.pk/about-us/histroy/ |archive-date=23 October 2021}} in 1961, the Sonmiani Flight Test Range is the only rocket launch facility operated by the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission.{{rp|135}}{{cite book |last1=Nair |first1=Kiran Krishan |title=Space: The Frontiers of Modern Defence |date=2006 |publisher=KnowledgeWorld . |isbn=978-81-87966-44-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBXL1i-n6UAC&dq=sonmiani+only+suparco&pg=PA193 |access-date=19 March 2023 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Sonmiani - Pakistan Special Weapons Delivery Systems |url=https://nuke.fas.org/guide/pakistan/facility/sonmiani.htm |website=nuke.fas.org}} It was the crucial contribution from the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that established the facility in 1961 with Suparco launching the Rehbar-I program that consisted of a Nike-Cajun combination on 7 June 1962.{{rp|118}}
In 1989, the Sonmiani FTR mission was moved from supporting the civilian space program towards supporting the military program when Hatf-I (lit. Target) was launched from the facility. Since 1990, the Sonmiani FTR has been expanded and modernized that now includes the several rocket launch sites, a rocket assembly and a maintenance workshop; a payload assembly area; high-speed tracking radars with a control room and telemetry station; flight communications equipment and optical cameras.“Missile Flight Tests,” The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 31 January 2011, www.iiss.org. It is currently spread across {{convert|200|ha}} and located approximately {{convert|50|km}} west of Karachi.
The Sonmani FTR, not a space center, now serves as a primary launch site for Pakistani military's missile testing program, namely launching the Hatf program (Target), including four tests of Hatf-II, two of Hatf-III, seven of Hatf-IV and five of Hatf-VI.“Missile Flight Tests,” The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 31 January 2011, www.iiss.org.{{cite web |title=PKAFSC |url=http://www.astronautix.com/p/pkafsc.html |website=www.astronautix.com |access-date=20 March 2023}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.suparco.gov.pk|SUPARCO official website}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150824115306/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/sonmiani.htm Astronautix.com page on Sonmiani]
{{Pakistanspaceagency}}
{{Pakistan Air Force main}}
{{Spaceport}}
{{Lasbela-Union-Councils}}
Category:Science and technology in Pakistan
Category:Space programme of Pakistan
Category:Rocket launch sites in Pakistan
Category:1962 establishments in Pakistan
Category:Military installations in Balochistan, Pakistan