Institute of Space Technology

Institute of Space Technology

Motto	Exploring the Final Frontier
Established	2002
Chancellor	President of Pakistan
Vice-Chancellor	Imran Rahman
Dean	Dr. Muddassar Farooq
Patron in Chief	President of Pakistan
Location	Islamabad, Pakistan
Campus	100 acres, Urban
Colors	Federal Blue, Deep Sky Blue
Affiliations	PEC, HEC
Website	IST Official Website

Institute of Space Technology (also known as IST) is a public research university located in Islamabad, Pakistan focused on the study of astronomy, aerospace engineering and astronautics. ^[1] Established in 2002 under the auspices of the Pakistan National Space Agency. IST offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduate degrees in partnership of Beihang University and University of Surrey.^[1] Since 2008, IST has an ISO certified management standard. IST is based on a 73 acre campus on the outskirts of Islamabad.^[1][2]

iCUBE-1

Institute of Space Technology on 21 November 2013, launched Pakistan's first Cubesat satellite, iCUBE-1, onboard Dnepr launch vehicle from Yasny launch base, Russia. Its transmitted signal can be heard on VHF band. It has a mass of 1.1 kg & has a volume of 10 cm cube, it houses several sensors to collect data for scientific purposes. iCUBE-1 is a fully autonomous satellite and is capable of maintaining its health via its on-board computer. iCUBE-1 will open up a wide range of future experiments that can be carried on Cubesat in the domain of imaging, microgravity, biology, nanotechnology, space dynamics, chemistry, space physics and various other fields. Cubesats can also provide a test bed for developing satellite constellations for specific applications.^[3][4][5]

Academics

Degree programs

The disciplines and the degree programs offered by IST have been given below. The regular duration of BS and MS / M Phil degree programs is 4 and 2 years, respectively.

Discipline	Degree Program
	BS / BE[6]	MS / M Phil,[7]	Ph.D.[8]
Aerospace Engineering	Y	Y	Y
Avionics Engineering	Y	Y	Y
Electrical Engineering	Y	Y
Metallurgy and Materials Engineering	Y
Materials Science & Engineering	Y	Y	Y
Mechanical Engineering	Y	Y
Space Science	Y
Mathematics			Y

Departments

At present,the institute holds the following Departments:

• Aeronautics & Astronautics^[9]
• Electrical Engineering^[10]
• Applied Mathematics & Statistics^[11]
• Materials Science & Engineering^[12]
• Mechanical Engineering^[13]
• Space Science^[14]
• National Centre for Remote-Sensing & Geo-Informatics^[15]
• Humanities & Sciences^[16]

Annual events

• IST Youth Carnival (IYC)

It was called as "All-Pakistan Inter University Challenge". IST has organized the Challenge every year for four years. The event attracts participation from the universities/degree awarding institutes/post-graduate colleges in the Rawalpindi/Islamabad area as well as from the cities of Taxila and Peshawar. The event includes over a dozen extracurricular competitions such as dramatics, short film, all-rounder, Mushaira, and Battle of the Bands. Recently, the name of this event has now been replaced by IST Youth Carnival, or IYC.^[17][18]

• World Space Week.^[19]

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared 4–10 October as World Space Week. Pakistan is endeavoring to enter into the realm of Space Science & Technology and related applications. In past couple of decades IST has seen considerable advances in this field. The success of any space program relies greatly on public understanding and support. IST in collaboration with our National Space Agency (SUPARCO) is communicating the benefits of Space Technology to the public on regular basis. The institute has pioneered the observation of the International World Space Week in Pakistan. Walks, lectures and seminars are arranged in schools and colleges of the Twin-City area by students of IST. The week culminates with a full day variety show at the Institute that includes space quiz, poster competitions, space cinema and a musical concert.

Extracurricular

Societies

• ArtIST: promotes the spirit of Art among engineers by organizing painting, sketching, rebel pen,truck art,craft exhibition & Visage Canvas competitions.
• Hawks Adventure: It is the most famous and active adventure club of Islamabad.
• Aero Society: for students interested in hobby projects/research related to Aerospace.
• Communication Society: for students interested in hobby projects/research related to Communications,
• Material Advantage Chapter: for students interested in hobby projects/research related to Materials Science.
• IST Media Club: It consists of a team of photographers, graphic designers, video editors, programmers, digital artists, writers, and social media experts whose job is to market and publicize the events and happening in IST.
• Pegasus: a bi-monthly, bilingual (English/Urdu) magazine that encourages students to hone their literary skills.
• News Corridor: campus newsletter covering happenings in the institution.
• Fidens: The Adventure Club - for outdoor enthusiasts.
• I4Gx : E-Gaming Society
• AOUJ: Performing Arts Club - for the promotion of drama, acting and dance.
• Sports Society: oversees the inter-university and intra-university sports fixtures.
• Umeed: a philanthropic organization that helps underprivileged students in the Twin-City area.
• Blood Donor Club: organizes an annual blood donation camp.
• Environmental Club: raises awareness and takes concrete measures for environmental protection.
• MATHEMA: The mathematics society of IST - Aims to provide enrichment and challenges for students of IST who demonstrate strong interest in mathematics.
• SPAM: Student Magazine,
• Goonj: The Music Society - promotes music and music teaching. Arranges musical performances.
• Planteers: The philanthropic Society - to help the needy ones in the twin city.
• Space Society:Promotes research and development in Astronautics,GIS,RS,Satellite Communication and Astronomy

See also

• iCUBE-1
• Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite
• SUPARCO

References

External links

• Institute of Space Technology Official Website

Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) of Pakistan
Space centres	Islamabad Earth Terminal Pakistan Mission Control Center
Satellites-controlled program	Earth observation Badr-IIB Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite program Communication Badr-IA Badr-IV Badr-VI Paksat-IE Paksat-IR Space missions Lunar Program Astrophysics research program Geoscience monitoring Program Unmanned spaceflight program IST missions ICube-1
Expendable launch vehicles	Rehbar spaceflights program Hatf program (Hatf-IA/B) Shaheen-III Abdali-I
Associated organizations	Defence Science and Technology Organization Pakistan Amateur Astronomers Society Pakistan Meteorological Department Air Force Strategic Command Strategic Plans Division
Institutions	Institute of Space Technology Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics (University of Karachi)
Space observatories	University Observatory (University of Karachi) Astronomical Observatory (University of the Punjab)
Primary spaceports	Sonmiani Launch Complex Tilla Launch Center
People	Abdus Salam Ishrat Hussain Usmani Samad Rizvi Abdul Majid (physicist) Abdul Qadeer Khan Wladyslaw Turowicz Salim Mehmud Ghulam Murtaza
History and policy	Space Vision 2040 ECSRC Suparco Spaceflight missions Spin-off technologies