Tilla Satellite Launch Centre
# Tilla Satellite Launch Centre

Tilla Satellite Launch Centre, primary known as Tilla Range, is a spaceport 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Jhelum city in Punjab (Pakistan). The facility is also known as Mashhood Test Firing Range (MTFR). The spaceport has been used as a launch site for the Hatf and Ghauri ballistic missiles under development by the Khan Research Laboratories.

## Location

Tilla is an eastward continuation of the Salt Range in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, 3,242 feet above the sea. From the Bunha torrent the range rises rapidly to the culminating peak of Tilla Jogian and thence sinks as rapidly, but a series of low parallel ridges runs out across the valley of the Kahan. During British Rule, the hill was sometimes used as a summer resort by officers of Jhelum District. A famous monastery of Jogi fakirs is situated here.

## History

The exact timing of construction of Tilla Satellite Launch Centre is unknown and unclear. According to science sources from Pakistan, it is believed that the spaceport was built and indigenously constructed by SUPARCO sometime in 1989. The space facility is based on the model of Chinese space and missile sites, notably Base 603 and Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre. TSLC is a defence launch facility (spaceport). The facility has been used by Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The spaceport is usually used to launch vehicles into lower and medium orbits with large orbital inclination angles, as well as testing medium to long-range missiles. Its facilities are state of the art and provide support to every phase of a satellite launch campaign. The site includes the Technical Centre, high-powered radar system, laser-powered radar and telecommunication complex, the Launch Complex, the Launch Control Centre, the Mission Command and Control Centre, several launch pads, and various other logistical support systems.

The spaceport was upgraded by SUPARCO in 1998. The spaceport consists of a supercomputer, missile control system, airborne warning, satellite control room, laser-satellite control system, aerospace control system, electrical communication and information office. The site is also defended by Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft to protect the facility and its scientists from any airborne threat.

