Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the

space agency of the Indian government headquartered in
the city of Bengaluru. ISRO was established in 15 August
1969. Its vision is to harness space technology for
national development while pursuing space science
research and planetary exploration. And the motto of
ISRO is Space technology in the service of human kind.
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, sriharikota is the primary
spaceport of ISRO.

History of ISRO
Formed in 1969, ISRO superseded the erstwhile
Indian National Committee for Space Research
(INCOSPAR), which was established in 1962 by the
efforts of independent Indias first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru and his close aide and scientist
Vikram Sarabhai. ISRO is managed by Department
of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of
India. ISRO built his first satellite, Aryabhata
which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19
April, 1980.

Indias major space missions

ISRO is one of the leading space agency today. It has
successfully operated and executed major space mission
such as Bhaskara 1 & 2, Chandrayaan 1 & 2 and
Mangalyaan (MOM).
Chandrayaan- 1 was the Indias first mission to the
moon. ISRO launched the

spacecraft using a modified

version of the PSLV on 22 October 2008 from Satish

Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The vehicle was
successfully inserted into lunar on 8 November 2008.
During its 312 days operational period, It surveyed the
lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical
characteristics and 3-dimensional topography.
Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) was
Indias first mission to the mars. It was launched into
earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) and has entered Mars orbit
on 24 September 2014. India is the first country to enter
Mars orbit in first attempt. It was completed at a record
cost of $74 million. The spacecraft had a launch mass of
1337 kg with 15 kg of five scientific instruments payload.
Payloads installed on the satellite as follows :-

Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)

Mars Color Camera (MCC)
Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser
(MENCA)
Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS)

Indian Satellite System

ISRO had also executed several satellite programmes like
INSAT, IRS etc which are helping India in various fields
such as communication, remote sensing, surveying,
meteorology etc.
The INSAT series
Indian National Satellite system (INSAT) is a series of
multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO
to

satisfy

the

telecommunication,

broadcasting,

meteorology and search and rescue needs of India.

Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is the largest domestic
communication system in the Asia pacific region. It is a
joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of
Telecommunication, India Meteorology Department, All
India Radio and Doorarshan.
The IRS series
Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) are a series of

earth

observation

satellites

built,

launched

and

maintained by ISRO. The IRS satellites provides the

remote sensing facilities to India. All the satellites are
placed in polar sun-synchronous orbit and provide data
in variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions to
enable several programmes to be undertaken relevant to
national development.

India Satellite launchers

The satellite launched vehicles developed by India are as
follows:1. Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV):SLV was a 4 stage solid propellant light launcher. It
was intended to reach a height of 500 km and carry
a payload of 40 kg. Its first launch took place in
1979. Its current status is Decommissioned.
2. Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV):ASLV was a 5-stage solid propellant rocket with the
capability of placing a 150 kg satellite into low earth
orbit. The first launch was held in 1987.Its current
status is Decommissioned.
3. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV):-

PSLV is an expendable launch system developed by

ISRO to allow India to launch its Indian Remote
Sensing (IRS) satellites into Sun synchronous orbits.
PSLV

can

also

launch

small

satellites

into

geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).Its current status

is active.
4. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV):GSLV is an expendable launch system developed to
enable India to launch its INSAT type satellites into
geostationary orbit. At present it is ISROs second
heaviest satellite launch vehicle and can put payload
of uoto 5 ton to low earth orbit.

ISROs Future Projects

ISROs future projects are as follows
1. Future launch vehicles
a) Reusable Launch Vehicle- Technology
Demonstrator (RLV-TD).
b) Unified Launch Vehicle (ULV)
2. Extraterrestrial exploration
a) Chandrayaan-2
It will be Indias mission to moon will include
an orbiter and lander-rover module. The
science goal of this mission are to further
improve the understanding of the origin and
evolution of the moon.

b) Venus exploration
ISRO is planning to a mission to Venus, by
2017-18 to study its atmosphere
c) Solar exploration programme
ISRO plans to carry out a mission to sun by
the year 2015-16. It is named as Aditya-1 and
will weigh about 400 kg .It is the first Indian
space mission based on solar coronagraph to
study solar corona in visible and near IR
bands. The main objective is to study the
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and consequently
the crucial physical parameters for space
weather.

Famous personalities
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian scientist and
innovator widely regarded as the father of Indias space
programme. Sarabhai was convinced and envisioned that
the resources in space have the potential to address the
real problems of man and society.
Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana chawla was the first Indian- American astronaut

and first Indian woman in space. She first flew on Space
Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and
primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, she was one of
the seven crew member s killed in the space shuttle
Columbia disaster.
A.P.J Abdul Kalam
Abdul kalam was the 11th president of India from 2002 to
2007. He was a scientist who served DRDO and ISRO for
more than 4 decades and was intimately involved in
Indias civilian space programme and military missile
development efforts. He thus came to be known as the
Missile Man of India for his work on the development
ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.