Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization
Profile
- Head
- Md. Rashidul Islam
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- 190
- Established
- 1980
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization Act, 1991 (Act No. 29 of 1991), enacted by the Parliament of Bangladesh to reorganize and give statutory status to SPARRSO, which was originally established in 1980 by executive order merging the Space and Atmospheric Research Centre (SARC) of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and the Bangladesh Landsat Programme (BLP)
SPARRSO is advancing on two parallel tracks: (1) operational disaster monitoring -- running near-real-time flood mapping and cyclone tracking in coordination with BMD, leveraging SAR and optical satellite imagery, and supporting BSCL's management of Bangladesh Satellite-1 from its Telipara (Gazipur) ground station; (2) long-term space economy ambition -- a feasibility study for a space industrial park, rocket manufacturing facility, and satellite AIT laboratory is in progress with the full report due June 2026; candidate sites include Mirsarai Economic Zone and Madhupur, Tangail.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-15 other SPARRSO continued operational support for Bangladesh Satellite-1 (BS-1, formerly Bangabandhu-1) in coordination with Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL), which assumed full satellite management responsibilities from BTRC in 2025; SPARRSO's Telipara (Gazipur) ground station remains part of the satellite control infrastructure. ↗↗↗
- 2026-03-01 other SPARRSO maintained near-real-time flood inundation monitoring using SAR satellite imagery and machine learning tools for the ongoing flash-flood season, building on operational methods developed during the Cyclone Remal response (May 2024) when inundation reached 9,243 sq. km across Bangladesh's coastal belt. ↗↗↗
- 2026-03-15 other SPARRSO continued cyclone tracking operations: detecting climatic depressions via satellite network monitoring and forwarding location, wind speed, and landfall bulletins to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), using feeds from NASA and NOAA satellites as part of the national multi-hazard early warning chain. ↗↗
- 2026-04-01 other SPARRSO signed an agreement with Development Design Consultants Limited (at a cost of approximately Tk 1.35 crore) to conduct a feasibility study for a national space industrial park, a rocket manufacturing and launch station, and a satellite manufacturing AIT laboratory; the consultant is mandated to deliver the full feasibility report and preliminary design by June 2026. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
SPARRSO traces its operational origins to 1968 when it hosted an NASA Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) ground station; formal institutional history runs from 1972 (SARC created within BAEC) through 1980 (SARC merged with the Bangladesh Landsat Programme to form SPARRSO by executive order) to 1991 (statutory reorganization via Act No. 29). The established_year field is set to 1980, which is the year of formal organizational creation as SPARRSO (the 1991 Act reorganized and gave statutory structure to the already-existing body). Legal basis confirmed by Wikipedia, Banglapedia, UN-SPIDER, and govserv.org cross-reference. Chairman Md. Rashidul Islam (Additional Secretary rank, previously posted at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education) was appointed via Ministry of Public Administration gazette notification on or around October 16, 2023; confirmed by Daily Sun and The Asian Age (both October 2023). Staff count of 190 (scientists, technical, and non-technical) sourced from Banglapedia; no contradictory figure found in other primary sources. SPARRSO annual budget is not separately disclosed in publicly accessible English-language sources; annual_budget_bdt left null. Bangladesh Satellite-1 (launched May 12, 2018 from Kennedy Space Center; 40 Ku-band and C-band transponders; built by Thales Alenia Space) was formerly named Bangabandhu Satellite-1; renamed after August 2024 political transition. BSCL (formerly BCSCL) assumed operational control from BTRC in 2025; SPARRSO's Telipara (Gazipur) ground station is part of the satellite's two-station control infrastructure (the second station is at Bethbunia, Rangamati). Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all material claims.
Sources
- https://sparrso.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Research_and_Remote_Sensing_Organization
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/SPARRSO
- https://www.un-spider.org/bangladeshi-space-research-and-remote-sensing-organization-sparrso
- https://www.daily-sun.com/post/717575/SPARRSO-gets-new-chairman
- https://dailyasianage.com/news/314418/administrative-official-again-appointed-sparrso-chairman
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/aiming-space-economy-bangladesh-plans-rockets-satellites-and-space-industrial-park-1310051
- https://www.tbsnews.net/explainer/does-bangladesh-need-space-industry-1310136
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Satellite-1
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Satellite_Company_Limited
- https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/what-does-bangladeshs-space-research-organisation-really-do-3423581
- https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/monitoring-and-forecast-of-disasters-in-bangladesh-using-remote-sensing-technology/
- https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/17/15/2189
- https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/DUJEES/article/view/83012
- https://sparrso.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/sparrso.portal.gov.bd/annual_reports/679a7235_c121_4138_acae_1e92e246f1f4/2025-05-04-04-26-976518369e66e88a27bada3401663062.pdf