2. Humble Beginnings India began its tryst with space
just over a decade after Independence. In 1962, the
then Indian Government established the Indian
National Committee on Space Research (INCOSPAR).
Note that this was just five years after the US-Russia
space race began in 1957 when Russia launched the
world's first spacecraft, the Sputnik -I. Therefore we
can proudly claim that India's space program is
amongst the worlds oldest. The INCOSPAR later went
on to become Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), which was incorporated in 1969 - the same
year, man landed on the moon!
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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3. Humble Beginnings India
began its tryst with
space just over a
decade after
Independence.
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
3
4. In 1962, the then Indian Government established the Indian
National Committee on Space Research (INCOSPAR). Note
that this was just five years after the US-Russia space race
began in 1957 when Russia launched the world's first
spacecraft, the Sputnik -I. Therefore we can proudly claim
that India's space program is amongst the worlds oldest. The
INCOSPAR later went on to become Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), which was incorporated in 1969 - the
same year, man landed on the moon !
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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5. Even before the ISRO was set up, India
had already built the Thumba
Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
(TERLS) in Kerala under the aegis of
the INCOSPAR. This was way back in
1963. This is largely thought to be the
beginning of the Indian space
program. A decade later, in 1972, India
created the Department of Space
(DOS), of which ISRO was made the
research and development wing. In
just six years since the establishment
of ISRO, the very first satellite made
by India was up in space. Known as
the Aryabhatta, after the great Indian
mathematician, it was launched with
Russian help (then U.S.S.R). As for the
Aryabhatta, it managed to function
only for four days after its launch - a
failure - but a start nevertheless !
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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6. The next launch came in the form of the Bhaskara 1 in 1979. Around
the same time, India took its first steps in developing its own launch
vehicles, so that it could make and launch spacecrafts without
foreign help. Three decades later, ISRO is amongst the most
successful space agencies and one of the three large space agencies
in Asia - the other two being China's CNSA and Japan's JAXA. Space
for Development While US and Russia were in a space race to prove
who was the best, India, right from the beginning, concentrated on
space research that would eventually prove beneficial to the people
of India. In fact, Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of the Indian space
program, had showed great zeal in "convincing" the Indian
Government how India could benefit from a space program. Little is
known about the fact that he leased an American satellite using
which he showcased how India could use satellites to broadcast
health and educational television programs to remote villages of
India. Later, he showcased the use of satellites for other purposes
like remote sensing education and even national security. It was not
until Chandrayaan I that India turned its attention to a mission
dedicated to pure science
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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8. In spite of all these unfavourable conditions, a dedicated team
of scientists - including Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam - worked on the
Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) project that aimed to fulfill India's
dream of having its own launch vehicle. It wasn't until 1980,
when India managed to send to space its own indigenously built
satellite, the Rohini, on an Indian made launch vehicle that India
managed to achieve its dream. Just a year prior to that, in 1979,
the first launch of the SLV using a Rohini Technology payload
ended in failure. In 1983, India successfully placed the Rohini 3
in orbit - again using its own SLV rocket. The Rohini was
instrumental in increasing the television coverage in the
country. It was able to increase the extent of coverage from a
mere 20% to 70% in a matter of just over two years. With the
success of the SLV, ISRO turned its attention to making even
larger and superior launch vehicles. This resulted in the arrival
of the Asynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) in 1987.
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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9. The first launch of the ASLV was a
disaster. It did not place the
SCROSS satellite it was carrying in
to orbit. Undeterred, ISRO went
for a second launch - which also
ended in failure. The third and
the fourth launches, however,
were successful. The ASLV was
replaced by the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV,
since its first flight back in 1993
has gone on to become the most
successful rockets made by the
country. Apart from placing Indian
satellites in orbit, the PSLV is
credited with launching satellites
for other countries as well
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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10. While the PSLV still continues to
do duty for the country, it was
clear that India needed a bigger,
more powerful vehicle for more
complex missions in the future.
This forced the designers and the
engineers to go back to the
drawing board. They came up
with what is now known as the
Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV). The GSLV was first
introduced in 2001 and had a few
successful test and
developmental fights. However,
the last three launches were
unsuccessful. The latest launch
happened earlier this month and
used India's own Cryogenic
engines, which did not perform
as expected.
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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11. Chandrayaan ,which event pertaining to the
ISRO has done the country proud; his answer
would most likely be the Chandrayaan mission
of 2008. Chandrayaan I was India's first
mission to the moon and the most important
mission to the moon by any country after the
last of the Apollo spacecrafts relayed data
back to earth from the moon - back in the
70s. There were minor missions from other
countries since the late 70s but Chandrayaan
was the first "global" mission that India had
participated in and would later go on to
become one of the most important lunar
missions in human history.
Pranabjyoti Das
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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12. The first sounding rocket was launched on November 21
from TERLS 1969 - Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) was created 1975 - Aryabhatta, the first Indian
space satellite, was launched for India on April 19 1979 Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth
observations, launched on June 7 1979 - The first
experimental launch of an SLV-3 rocket -Failed 1980 India successfully launched its own Rohini-1 satellite on
July 18 on a Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket 1984 Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma, a 35-year-old Indian Air
Force pilot, was launched to space along with two Soviet
cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 -making him the first
Indian in space. 1987 - The first developmental launch of
a larger Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) rocket
on March 24 takes place - Failure. 1992 - The Indian-built
INSAT-2 geostationary communications and meteorological
satellite launched 1993 - The Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV) makes its debut 2001 -- The first launch of
a still larger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV) rocket was successful on April 18. 2008 Chandrayaan Mission to the moon successful
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Saturday, November 23, 2013
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