SUCCESSFUL ENDEAVOUR IN SPACE
The Indian space programme has come a long way in the 57 years since its inception. From a fledgling
Sounding Rocket Launch Facility established in the early 1960s in Thumba near Trivandrum, it has
matured into a giant world-class space power.
Beginning of Space Programme
• The Indian space programme began in a modest way in 1962 with the formation of the Indian National Committee on Space Research (INCOSPAR). The formal beginning of the Indian space
programme can be traced to the launch of a Nike-Apache sounding rocket on November 21, 1963 from Thumba.
• Later, Thumba became an international sounding rocket launching facility and such rockets were launched for upper atmospheric, geomagnetic and space research by many countries.
• In 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed.
Progress and Achievements
• The 70s were the learning phase during which many experimental satellites were built, including
India’s first satellite Aryabhata, which was launched in 1975 from a launch centre in the former
Soviet Union.
• Bhaskara 1 and 2, the two experimental earth observation satellites, provided the rich experience.
Today, India is a world leader in the satellite-based remote sensing area.
• APPLE, India’s first experimental communication satellite, launched by the European Ariane
rocket, reached its final geosynchronous orbital home in June 1981.
• Aryabhata, the two Bhaskaras, as well as APPLE were launched free of cost, which reflects India’s
successful international space cooperation policy.
• ISRO conducted two significant experiments in the 70’s — SITE and STEP — to obtain hands-on
experience on the utilisation of satellites for television broadcasting and telecommunications.
• ISRO developed its first Satellite Launch Vehicle SLV3 and successfully launched in July 1980. As
a result, India entered into the select league of six countries with the capability to launch satellites
on their own. Later, India developed ASLV, a more capable launch vehicle compared to SLV-3.
• INSAT- 1B, India’s first multipurpose operational satellite was launched in 1983. It brought
revolution in in India’s telecommunications, television broadcasting and weather forecasting fields.
• In 1988, IRS-1A, the first operational satellite built in India started imaging the earth from orbit.
During the 1990s, ISRO began building INSAT-2 series of multipurpose satellites indigenously.
• Today, India has a fleet of advanced remote sensing satellites equipped with high resolution and
multispectral cameras dedicated to the themes of cartography, resource survey and ocean and
atmospheric applications.
• Apart from these polar orbit-based observation satellites, weather watching satellites INSAT-3D
and INSAT-3DR — circling the earth in the 36,000 km high geosynchronous orbit, are providing
valuable inputs to weather forecasting. Apart from these satellites, the Indian National Satellite
(INSAT) system today is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in Asia-Pacific
region.
• High throughput satellites such as GSAT-11, GSAT29 and GSAT-19 are supporting the “Digital
India” campaign by boosting the broadband connectivity to the rural and inaccessible Gram
Panchayats in the country.
Launch Vehicles by ISRO
• Till now, ISRO has developed five launch vehicles (SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV and GSLV Mk III
which is also known as LMV3) and mastered the technology of rockets that use solid, liquid as well
as cryogenic propellants.
• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first
Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. With 49 successful flights over the years,
PSLV has emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India.
• On February 15, 2017, PSLV created a world record by successfully placing 104 satellites (launched
by PSLV-C37) in orbit during a single launch.
• Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) is fourth generation launch
vehicle having three stages (including the cryogenic upper stage). Cryogenic technology involves
storage of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen at very low temperatures.
VAJIRAM AND RAVI Yojana Summary- January 2021 Page 6
• With the successful qualification of the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage in the GSLV-D5 flight in January 2014, ISRO demonstrated its mastery of cryogenic rocket propulsion.
• GSLV Mk III, India’s fifth generation satellite launch vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage. The vehicle is designed to carry 4-ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• With the successful injection of Chandrayaan-2 in to Earth Parking Orbit in July 2019, GSLV MkIII successfully entered into its operational phase.
• India’s Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV TD) was successfully flight tested in May 2016.
• The first experimental mission of ISRO’s Supersonic Combustion Ramjet (SCRAMJET) engine towards the realisation of air breathing propulsion system was also successfully conducted in August
- With this, India became the fourth country to flight test the SCRAMJET engine. Science Missions
• ISRO entered into the realm of science missions with a unique mission, Space Capsule Recovery Experiment-1 (SRE-1). Launched by PSLV in January 2007, SRE-1 with its scientific experiments orbited the Earth for 12 days and was successfully deorbited and recovered over Bay of Bengal.
• The space science missions of India – Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, Astrosat and Chandrayaan-2 – have caught the attention of millions.
• Launched by PSLV in October 2008, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was successfully navigated to the Moon. With this mission, India became the fourth country to send a probe to the lunar surface after the United States, the Soviet Union and Japan.
• Later, when Chandrayaan-1 conclusively discovered water molecules on the lunar surface, it was widely hailed as a path-breaking discovery.
• Mars Orbiter Mission demonstrated India’s capability to build, launch and navigate an unmanned spacecraft to Mars. Launched by PSLV in November 2013, the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft encountered Mars on September 24, 2014.
• With this, ISRO has become the fourth space agency to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit. Achieving success in the first mission itself is yet another accomplishment of ISRO.
• AstroSat launched by PSLV in September 2015, is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously. AstroSat
recently made a major breakthrough by discovering one of the earliest galaxies in extreme-Ultraviolet light.
• The Chandrayaan-2 mission, India’s second mission to the moon, was successfully launched in July - The eight instruments onboard the Orbiter are continuously providing useful science data which will enrich our understanding of the moon’s evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in Polar regions.
• ISRO has successfully established and operationalised Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) which provides highly accurate Position, Navigation and Time information to users in India
and its surroundings. Global Standards body 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which develops protocols for mobile telephony, has approved NavIC.
• Further, through GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), ISRO is providing Satellitebased Navigation services with accuracy and integrity required for civil aviation applications and to
provide better Air Traffic Management over Indian Airspace.
• Apart from this, ISRO has also facilitated students in building/ launching satellites for various
applications. So far, 10 student satellites have been launched by ISRO.
• The “Gaganyaan Programme”, approved in 2018, has the objective of demonstrating human spaceflight capability to Low Earth orbit with 3 crew members for 5-7 days in orbit and safely recover them
after the mission.