India is one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to space missions and satellite launching. This blog deals with India’s space journey from scratch.
Introduction
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is India’s national space agency. Formerly known as Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), ISRO serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space, Government of India. ISRO’s main functions include space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation, and the development of related technologies. It also has a constellation of imaging, communications, and remote sensing satellites. By August 2025, ISRO will have sent 3 missions to the moon and 1 mission to Mars.
Chapter 1 : INCOSPAR Days
The concept of an Indian Space Agency was the brainchild of Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, who is considered the Father of the Indian Space Program. INCOSPAR was formed in 1962 by the Department of Atomic Energy. Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the Father of the Indian Nuclear Program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in building the first rocket launching station in India. The centre was at Thumpa, near Thiruvananthapuram, at the coast ofthe Arabian Sea. The first rocket was launched on November 21, 1963, with a sodium vapour payload.
On January 1st, 1967, the Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station was established in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, thus laying the foundation stone for future satellite launching missions. INCOSPAR was finally upgraded to ISRO on August 15, 1969, under the Department of Atomic Energy(DAE).
Chapter 2: ISRO and Its Missions’ History
ISRO was initially under DAE, but on June 1, 1972 theSpace Commission and the Department of Space (DoS) were set up, and ISRO was brought under its management.
In its initial days, ISRO launched various missions, including the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in collaboration with NASA on 1st January, 1975. The project made available informational television programs to rural India. The main objectives of the experiment were to educate the financially backward and academically illiterate people of India on various issues via satellite broadcasting, and also to help India gain technical experience in the field of satellite communications.
An important event in Indian history was the launch of India’s first satellite, Aryabhata (named after the Indian mathematician and astronomer of 500 CE) on 19th April, 1975. It was designed and fabricated by ISRO and was launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar.
Other important missions in the early years include the launch of satellites like Bhaskara I (1979), Rohini Satellite RS-1(1980), INSAT 2B(1983), INSAT 1C(1988), INSAT 1D(1990), etc. andSatellite Telecommunication Experiments Project of 1977.
On 2nd April 1984, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go to space though a India-Soviet manned space mission in a Soyuz T-11 rocket on an eight-day mission to the Salyut 7 space station. This joint mission was a result of an agreement between ISRO and the Soviet Intercosmos program.
At present, ISRO has accomplished and is undergoing missions including-
- 132 spacecraft missions
- 18 Satellites realised by private players or students
- 433 Foreign satellites launched by ISRO
- 102 Launch Missions
- 9 Re-entry Missions & POEMS
- 2 Launch missions facilitated by ISRO
- 1 Gaganyaan (manned mission)
Chapter 3: Chandrayaan- A journey to the Moon
ISRO has thus far completed three lunar missions called the Chandrayaan Programme.
Chandrayaan 1 was India’s first mission to the moon. It was launched on October 22, 2008, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It orbited around the moon at a height of 100 km from the surface for chemical, minerals, and photo-geological mapping of the moon. It carried 11 pieces of scientific equipment from India, the USA, UK, Germany, Sweden, and Bulgaria. After successfully orbiting for 3400 revolutions, the mission was concluded when the satellite was lost on August 29, 2008.
Chandrayaan 2 was the second lunar mission by ISRO. It consisted of an orbiter, a lunar lander- Vikram, and a rover- Pragyan. The spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on 22 July, 2019. It reached lunar orbit on 20 August 2019, but the lander crashed on 6 September 2019 while attempting a lunar landing due to a software error. The orbiter continues to operate in orbit around the moon.
Chandrayaan 3 was launched on July 24, 2023, from Sriharikota and reached lunar orbit on 5th August, 2024. The mission consisted of a lander- Vikram, and a rover- Pragyan. It used the orbiter of Chandrayaan 2, still operating around the moon as its own orbiter. The lander successfully landed on 23rd August, 2023 at 18:04 IST and thus ISRO became the fourth national space agency to successfully land on the moon after the Soviet Space Program, NASA & CNSA. It also became the first lander to land near the moon’s south pole. The Budget of the Chandrayaan 3 mission was around Rs. 615 crore, which is around US$ 74 million, which was less than the budget of the Hollywood movie Gravity of $100 million.
Chapter 4: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
ISRO has also completed a voyage to Mars called Mars Orbital Mission (MOM). It was launched on 5th November, 2015, from Sriharikota, making it India’s first interplanetary mission. After a 298-day-long journey to Mars, it reached the planet’s orbit on 24 September 2014. The mission carried 5 scientific payloads:- Mars Color Camera(MCC), Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) & Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP).
On 2 October 2022, it was reported that the orbiter had lost communications with Earth after entering a seven-hour eclipse period in April 2022. The cost of the mission was Rs 450 crore or around US$72 million, making it the least expensive Mars mission to date.
Chapter 5: Future Missions- Gaganyaan & NISAR
ISRO can be said to have become a space superpower right after NASA and CNSA. It now helps other countries launch satellites and other programs. The two biggest upcoming projects of ISRO are Gaganyaan and NISAR.
Gaganyaan aims to enable human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400km around the earth for 3 days and bring them back safely. The rocket module will be an LVM3 rocket. The Orbital Module(OM) will be composed of a Crew Module(CM) and a Service Module(SM). CM will be the habitable space for cre,w providing an earthly environment. It is also designed to re-enter safely to the earth surface. SM will assist CM by providing aids like thermal system, propulsion system, power systems, avionic systems & deployment mechanism.
NISAR or NASA-ISRO-SAR is aLow Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO. It will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide data for understanding changes in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, groundwater, and natural hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides. It consists of L & S dual-band Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR), which will receive large amounts of data in high resolution. Apart from respective national interests, this observatory will also help various science communities with high-quality studies, encouraging more research and development.
Conclusion
The journey of ISRO from the 1960s to today can be compared to a character arc of a hero’s journey. The scientific achievements from Aryabhata to Chandrayaan 3 have enabled Indian and foreign research institutes in an uncountable number of ways. The small step that was taken by Dr. Sarabhai while creating INCOSPAR later made a giant leap in Indian space research in the form of ISRO.
Suggested Readings
- From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey- by ISRO Scientists.
- ISRO: A Personal History by R. Aravamudan and Gita Aravamudan.
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