15 amazing facts about ISRO

1. ISRO was established in 1969, 8 years after Pakistan established Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in 1961. ISRO has completed 120 mission and 74 satellite launches,  but SUPARCO has only been able to launch two satellites (both from foreign soil and with foreign assistance).

2. ISRO’s headquarter is in Bengaluru, Karnataka. India is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

3. ISRO’s spaceport is located at Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota High Altitude Range.

4. Indian Space Program began at Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) located at Thumba near Thiruvanathapuram. Thumba was selected because the geomagnetic equator of the earth passes over Thumba. It is currently used by ISRO for launching Rohini series sounding rockets.

5. ISRO’s first satellite, Aryabhata it was launched on 19 April, 1975 from Kapustin Yar rocket launch and development site using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle by the Soviet Union.

6. SLV-3 was India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. The vehicle was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 18, 1980. It placed the Rohini series satellite which was India's first spacecraft to be launched from Indian soil. The Augmented SLV was launched in 1987, ASLV proved to be a low cost intermediate vehicle to demonstrate and validate critical technologies, that would be needed for the future launch vehicles like strap-on technology, inertial navigation, bulbous heat shield, vertical integration and closed loop guidance.

7. President A P J Abdul Kalam was the Project Director of SLV-3. The SLV-3 weighed 17 tonne and had a payload of 40 kg. The SLV-3 put 35 kg Rohini Satellite into the orbit. He later headed the prestigious integrated missile development program at DRDO.

8. These iconic images is a metaphor as to how the high-tech Indian space program coexists with general impoverishment. Contrary to the general belief that India’s didn’t have trucks in 1980s, this is a classic example of the supposedly unique Indian concept of Jugaad. The day when the photo was taken they were taking the satellite out for an antenna-range test. With a basic understanding of physics, it is well-known that testing an antenna by placing it, in the bed of a truck isn’t the best since the truck is metallic. The simplest work-around was to use a wooden bullock cart.

9. ISRO is one of the six space agencies in the world with the capability to build and launch satellites from its own soil.

      

10. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is regarded as the father of Indian Space Program.

11. ISRO’s last 40 years expenditure is about half of NASA’s single year budget.

12. ISRO’s budget is only 0.34 per cent of the central government expenditure at present and 0.08 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There is so little to offer, but in turn ISRO has got more in return to offer back to the nation.

13. The INSAT series of satellites were launched by the ISRO to reduce dependence on foreign satellites and to increase local telecommunication, broadcasting, distant eduction and  for search and rescue operations. It is the largest domestic Communication satellite constellation in the Asia-Pacific region.

14. India operates the most sophisticated and by far the largest civilian Remote sensing satellite programs in the world. ISRO has launched the CARTOSAT to develop a map of the whole country. The map will tell data about the country’s physical and biological resources and their distribution throughout the country.

15. India recently launched its first dedicated defense satellite, GSAT-7 for the Indian Navy. An “eye-in-the-sky” system for the Air Force is also being considered. Though publicly not acknowledged, the Technology Experiment Satellite or (TES) was a satellite to demonstrate and validate in orbit technologies. The launch of TES made India the second country in the world after the United States that could take pictures with one meter resolution. In a significant development, TES helped the US army with high-resolution images during the 9/11 counter-terrorism offensive against the Taliban. TES was launched in 2001 immediately after the Kargil war.