achieved 60 years ago
Sixty years ago, Pakistan achieved a milestone that put it ahead of not only India but also most of the Muslim and developing countries. In June 1962, Pakistan became the third country in Asia and the tenth in the world to launch a rocket into space. This story of his is quite unbelievable but true.
On an official visit, then-President John F. Kennedy told his Pakistani counterpart Ayub Khan that NASA hoped to send a man to the Moon by the end of the decade. In this they will need help from some other countries including Pakistan. Dr. Abdus Salam, who was then the head of the Atomic Energy Commission, was called to a meeting at NASA. They also enlisted Tariq Mustafa, 27, who was working for the US Atomic Energy Commission at the time.
what was the whole story
NASA told the two about its ambition of sending humans to the moon. NASA said that the rockets would have to be placed in Earth’s orbit before being sent towards the Moon. This meant that they needed data about every point in the planet’s atmosphere. Along with this, he also wanted information about the ‘Black Hole’ located above the Indian Ocean. Before starting the mission from NASA, it was very important to know about the conditions above 30,000 feet above this area. The southern end of Pakistan meets the Indian Ocean, it was quite fortunate in this sense.
help for information
America offered help to Pakistan in exchange for information. Tariq Mustafa, 27, was put in charge of the operation. Ayub Khan himself found a military range at Sonmiani in Balochistan which could become a launch pad. Mustafa formed a team of five people. The team also included electronics expert Salim Mehmood, director of the meteorological department M Rahmatullah, retired air force officer and communications expert flight lieutenant A Z Farooqui and mechanical engineer Sikandar Zaman.
Launched from Balochistan
The team had taken training at NASA before returning to the country. He had a total of nine months to complete the work. The team started the tow work in the scorching heat of Balochistan. The heat was so intense that they often could not work during the day. That’s why the party used to work from morning till noon and then from 4 in the evening till 9 or 10 in the night. Not only this, the launch was to happen during the day, neither before sunset nor shortly thereafter.
Pakistan’s first rocket
Pakistan’s first rocket Rehbar-I was launched on June 7, 1962 just after sunset. The mission was successful and helped in recording the required data. India was also involved in this project for NASA. He started his project in the Thumba range immediately after Pakistan. But in launching the rocket, India took more than a year from Pakistan.