To have their own space agency is very difficult task and to be a prominent one with almost a hobby of carving a niche for themselves is more arduous. Our country India is one of those countries who not only have the aforementioned but are making the world know of its presence. The Indian space program is handled by ISRO (Indian space research organisation) and from the time it was first started it has come a long way. People are now googling the comparison between ISRO and NASA and it just shows the large strides that ISRO has taken. The Indian Space Research Organisation has carried out 97 spacecraft missions, 69 launch missions and have planned many missions including Chandrayan-2 and Aditya(spacecraft).In this article, we are going to talk about a few more of their achievements.
Historical aspect
It all started way back in 1962 when India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, enlisted physicist vikram sarabhai to set up the Indian national committee for space research(INCOSPAR). SARABHAI is known as the founding father of India’s space program for this effort. On Nov. 21, 1963 the first sounding rocket was launched from thumba equatorial rocket launching station(TERLS) located in Thiruvananthapuram which has the tag of the place over which the geomagnetic equator of earth passes by. A photo of a man with a bicycle carrying the payloads of the mission got viral on the internet few years back according to some sources that bicycle was actually used in 1963.
- The satellite telecommunications earth station was set up at Ahmedabad on January 1, 1967.
- India’s first indigenous sounding rocket, RH-75, was launched on November 20, 1967.
- Aryabhata – first Indian satellite was launched on April 19, 1975. It was launched from the former Soviet Union. It provided India with the basis of learning satellite technology and designing.
- During 1975-76, ISRO along with NASA developed means of using space communications system for TV broadcasting. This resulted in the creation of the project satellite instructional television experiment(SITE). The main purpose of the SITE was to experiment usage of satellite broadcasting to educate the masses.
- Bhaskara-I an experiment satellite for earth observations was launched on June 7, 1979.
Major accomplishments
- Created polarized satellite launch vehicle(PSLV) to make cost effective launch system. This has resulted in increased collaboration with various international space agencies.
- Chandrayaan 1: it has launched Chandrayaan 1 lunar mission in 2008
- Mangalyaan : ISRO has launched mars Orbiter mission in 2013 and it was a historical launch as they become the first space agency to be successful in maiden attempt.
- ASTROSAT : ISRO has launched first space observatory in 2015 to become fourth agency to do so after Nasa, Roscosmos and ESA.
- SCRAMJET: supersonic combustion ramjet has been launched by isro. This system works on air breathing propulsion system which uses atmospheric oxygen to burn the fuel in rocket.
- RVL-TD: ISRO has launched reusable launch vehicle space shuttle RLV-TD to launch satellite around earth orbit and re-enter into the atmosphere.
- 104 satellites : ISRO has created history by launching 104 satellites in single go,
- Crew escape module : isro has test launched crew escape module paving the way for manned space mission Gaganyaan.
Future Plans
- Chandrayaan-2 : It will be India's second mission to the moon which will include an orbiter and land rover module aimed to know the origin and evolution of moon.
- Gaganyaan : Jointly made by ISRO AND HAL to carry three people the first test was in 2014 and it is expected to be launched in 2021.
- Chandrayaan-3 : The Chandrayaan-3 will be deployed in 2024 for future moon exploration. This will help ISRO to setup habitat on lunar surface.
- Aditya-L1 : The first Indian based solar coronagraph to study solar corona in visible and air bands.
- AVATAR : This is a result of collaboration of DRDO and ISRO, this aim is low cost military and commercial satellite space station and increased space tourism.
- RISAT-1A : It’s a radar imaging satellite quite similar to RISAT-1. Primary goals are terrain mapping and analysis of land, ocean and water surfaces for soil moisture.
- NISAR : NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co develop and launch a dual band radar imaging satellite.
The achievements of ISRO in such short period is remarkably unparalleled. ISRO has been a pivotal source for constant pride and accolades both for the nation and its countrymen. ISRO has the world in shock with brilliant accomplishments on a Spartan budget. The special thing about the successful maiden attempt was our own design and manufacturing part. Among the so many achievements this has a special place in the list and it is now one of the premier space agencies in the world. Every country has named their spacefarers U.S calls them Astronaut, while the Russians are called cosmonauts. The Chinese equivalents are known as taikonauts. So when the dream of our scientists of having an indian man in space with indian tricolour will come true he will be first our many vyomanauts, from the Sanskrit word “vyoma”, meaning “sky”. Whenever I think of ISRO, I remember these lines I read somewhere
Abhi tak zameen naanp rahe the..Kab aasman par chaa gae pata he ni chala…
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