Qualla: Sonmiani Flight Test Range

Sonmiani Flight Test Range: Introduction

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vk8435820, CC BY-SA 4.0. On June 7, 1962, a Nike-Cajun sounding rocket lifted off from a beach in Balochistan and climbed into the sky above the Arabian Sea. It was the first rocket ever launched from Pakistani soil, part of a program called Rehbar-I, and the facility it departed from -- the Sonmiani Flight Test Range -- owed its existence to an unlikely partnership between Pakistan's fledgling space agency and NASA. That partnership did not last. The rockets still fly from Sonmiani, but their purpose has changed.

Image: Vk8435820 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonmiani Flight Test Range: An American Beginning

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vk8435820, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, known as SUPARCO, was established in 1961 as Pakistan's national space agency. That same year, with crucial technical assistance and equipment from NASA, the Sonmiani Rocket Range was set up on a stretch of coastal flat near Son...

Image: Vk8435820 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonmiani Flight Test Range: From Sounding Rockets to Missile Tests

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vk8435820, CC BY-SA 4.0. SUPARCO's early years focused on civilian atmospheric research. Sounding rockets carried instruments to measure cosmic rays, atmospheric composition, and weather patterns. But the facility's mission shifted over the decades. As Pakistan's military programs expanded, the Flight Te...

Image: Vk8435820 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonmiani Flight Test Range: A Coastline of Contrasts

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vk8435820, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Flight Test Range sits on the same stretch of Balochistan coastline as fishing villages, the Gadani Ship Breaking Yard, and the ecologically sensitive Sonmiani Bay. Fishermen cast nets within kilometers of where rockets arc over the water. The bay itself hosts rare dolphin sp...

Image: Vk8435820 | CC BY-SA 4.0