60-second revision
- ISRO was formed on 15 August 1969; Vikram Sarabhai is the father of the Indian space programme. HQ: Bengaluru.
- First rocket launch: Thumba, Kerala, 21 November 1963. Main launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh).
- Aryabhata (1975) was launched by the USSR; SLV-3 put Rohini in orbit in 1980, India's first own launch.
- Cryogenic stage = liquid hydrogen + liquid oxygen; it powers the upper stage of GSLV.
- Mangalyaan reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014 — first nation to do so on its first attempt.
- Chandrayaan-3 landed near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023, now National Space Day.
- Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from L1, about 1.5 million km away; halo orbit reached 6 January 2024.
- SpaDeX (January 2025) made India the fourth country to dock spacecraft in orbit.
How it began
- 1962: INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) set up under Vikram Sarabhai.
- 21 November 1963: first sounding rocket (a US-made Nike-Apache) launched from Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram, chosen because it lies close to the magnetic equator.
- 15 August 1969: ISRO formed. In 1972 the Space Commission and Department of Space were created; ISRO works under the Department of Space, which reports directly to the Prime Minister.
- After Sarabhai died in 1971, M.G.K. Menon and then Satish Dhawan led the programme; the Sriharikota range is named after Dhawan.
| Centre | Place | Role |
|---|---|---|
| ISRO Headquarters | Bengaluru | Administration and programmes |
| Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) | Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh | Main launch site |
| Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | Rocket and launch-vehicle design |
| Space Applications Centre | Ahmedabad | Payloads and applications |
| U R Rao Satellite Centre | Bengaluru | Satellite design and building |
| Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre | Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru | Liquid and cryogenic engines |
Landmark satellites and launches
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Aryabhata, first Indian satellite — launched by a Soviet rocket |
| 1980 | SLV-3 places Rohini in orbit: first satellite launched by India itself |
| 1984 | Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian in space (Soviet Soyuz T-11) |
| 2008 | Chandrayaan-1 orbits the Moon; its instruments help confirm water molecules on the lunar surface |
| 2013–14 | Mars Orbiter Mission launched (Nov 2013), enters Mars orbit (24 Sep 2014) |
| 2014 | GSLV flies successfully with an Indian-built cryogenic upper stage |
| 2017 | PSLV-C37 launches 104 satellites in a single mission |
| 2019 | Chandrayaan-2: orbiter works; lander Vikram crash-lands |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole (23 Aug); Aditya-L1 launched (2 Sep) |
| 2024 | Aditya-L1 enters its halo orbit around L1 (6 Jan) |
| 2025 | SpaDeX docks two satellites in orbit (16 Jan); Shubhanshu Shukla becomes the first Indian aboard the International Space Station (Axiom-4) |
Launch vehicles
- SLV-3 and ASLV: early small rockets of the 1980s and early 1990s.
- PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle): the workhorse. Four stages alternating solid and liquid. Launched Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan and Aditya-L1.
- GSLV: places heavier satellites in geosynchronous transfer orbit using a cryogenic upper stage.
- LVM3 (earlier GSLV Mk III): India's heaviest operational rocket. Launched Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 and is chosen for Gaganyaan.
- SSLV: small satellite launch vehicle for quick, low-cost launches.
Orbits in brief
| Orbit | Height | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Low Earth orbit | Roughly 200–2,000 km | Space stations, Earth observation |
| Sun-synchronous polar orbit | Roughly 600–800 km | Remote sensing (passes over a place at the same local time) |
| Geostationary orbit | About 35,786 km above the equator | Communication, TV, weather; appears fixed in the sky |
| Lagrange point L1 | About 1.5 million km towards the Sun | Uninterrupted view of the Sun (Aditya-L1) |
India's own satellite navigation system, NavIC (earlier called IRNSS), covers India and a region of about 1,500 km around it. INSAT and GSAT satellites provide communication and broadcasting; the IRS series and Cartosat provide remote sensing.
The Moon, Mars and the Sun
- Chandrayaan-1 (2008, PSLV): India's first Moon mission. Its Moon Impact Probe and a NASA instrument on board helped detect water on the lunar surface.
- Chandrayaan-2 (2019, launched by LVM3, then called GSLV Mk III): an orbiter, lander Vikram and rover Pragyan. The orbiter kept working long past its planned one-year life; the lander crashed.
- Chandrayaan-3 (launched 14 July 2023 on LVM3): a propulsion module, lander Vikram and rover Pragyan. Landed on 23 August 2023 near the south pole — India was the first to land there and the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon. The landing spot is named Shiv Shakti point, and 23 August is observed as National Space Day.
- Mars Orbiter Mission (launched 5 November 2013, PSLV): reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014 — first Asian nation to do so and the first country to succeed on its first attempt, at very low cost.
- Aditya-L1 (launched 2 September 2023, PSLV): India's first space-based solar observatory, studying the Sun's corona and solar wind from a halo orbit around L1.
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