ISRO of India has the coming of age of Space Science and Technology in India as evident from the launch of its first satellite Aryabhata in 1975. Since then the Indian space program has actively progressed further, culminating in the Mars Orbiter Mission Mission in 2014.

While the first Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, went to space in 1984 in Soyuz T-11 the space mission which was jointly launched by India and the Soviet Union. Since then, many other actuals of India have too looked upon the sky and among them was Kalpana Chawla who unfortunately died in the fatal Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy of 2003.

These steps taken by the Indian astronauts mean a great deal to the country’s undying determination towards science and research, and the goal of pushing India into space exploration front line. These men and women have carried out meaningful experiments, evaluated new-age technologies and proved that India is capable of undertaking and executing monumental and difficult endeavours.

What are astronauts called in India

Astro means space and hence astronauts are popularly called Vyomanauts in India. The term vyom is derived from the Sanskrit language which translates to sky or space and it was only used when the indian space research agency, ISRO declared plans of sending humans to space. Hence the term vyomanaut which applies to an individual who, besides being an Indian citizen, is an astronaut that has flown to space.

ISRO: India history of entering into space can be dated to the early 1960s when the Indian Space Research Organization was founded. Rakesh Sharma of Indian Air Force in 1983 became the first Indiaborn man to venture into space when he as a part of inter-governmental Space Treaty and the first Indian woman in space when she flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11. All together Sharma flew in space 7 days 21 hours and 40 minutes.

In 2007, India launched Chandrayaan-1, an unmanned lunar mission as well; Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) launched in 2013 successfully became the first to enter the Martian orbit in September 2014.

India launched Gaganyaan, its human spaceflight program in 2018 intending to have the Indian astronauts to orbit by 2022, for the 75th Independence Day of the country. Initially four Indian Air Force pilots were short listed for being turned into astronauts whose training was to consist of modules on survival, physical fitness, scientific experiments and many more.

The first manned flight was set to take place in December of 2021 but like other launchers, it was delayed due to the Covid 19 crisis and other technical mishaps. Till the March of 2023, there has been no official statement from the government of India regarding the new date of launch. Once the Gaganyaan program is launched India will be the fourth country capable to sending human to space after the US, Russia and China.

Indian Space Research Organization

ISRO is an acronym which stands for Indian Space Research Organization. This is the main government agency which is tasked with the exploration of space and the utilization of space science in the development of India.

ISRO was established in 1969 with an aim and objective to use space technology for the development of the country and at the same time to carry out space science exploration. It is based in Bengaluru in the Indian State of Karnataka; however, the organization has several other establishments that include the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad among others.

ISRO has achieved several goals in the past several years It was able to launching over a hundred satellites and the manufacturing of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the next generation the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) which is used in the launching of heavy satellites.

Some of the successful missions of ISRO are the Chandrayaan-1 with lunar mission in 2008 during which, the presence of water molecules on the surface of the moon was traced, the Mars Orbiter Mission 2014 where ISRO successfully entered a spacecraft into Mars orbit, making a record in which no other country had done before.

Apart from being engaged in advancement of space technology for space exploration and research, ISRO is responsible for operating communication, broadcasting, meteorological, and disaster management satellite services among others for the country. Its commercial wing Antrix Corporation Limited offers commercial Satellites Launch Services and has so far put several satellites for several countries into orbit.

Thus, the prospects of the ISRO for the future imply the continuation of space missions and research as well as the initiation of the development of new technologies and space-based applications for social enhancements. It also envisions to make India a dominant player in the international space market by bringing down the barriers to space for India and other potential clients.

GSLV: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
PSLV: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
ASLV: Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
IRS: Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
INSAT: Indian National Satellite
CARTOSAT: Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for Cartography
SAC: Space Applications Centre
VSSC: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
SDSC SHAR: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
LPSC: Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre
ISTRAC: ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network
URSC: U R Rao Satellite Centre
MOM: Mars Orbiter Mission
GSLV-Mk III: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III
SRE: Space Capsule Recovery Experiment
Chandrayaan: India's lunar exploration program
ASTROSAT: Astronomy Satellite
NISAR: NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar
CARTOSAT-3: Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for Cartography-3
Aditya-L1: Aditya-L1 (named after the Hindu Sun god)

Facts of Indian Space Journey

India’s first astronaut was Rakesh Sharma who travelled on the Soyuz T-11 space craft in the year 1984.
ISRO or Indian Space research Organization was formed in the year 1969.
India began its operations of space and satellite with the launch of Aryabhata in 1975.
India has had its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), referred to as Mangalyaan which was launched in the year 2013 and arrived at the Mars orbit in September 2014.
Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned lunar mission was launched in the year 2008.
In 2021, India put into orbit Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite, it was the first time India launched a commercial satellite for a foreign country.
India’s current space budget for the current financial year 2021-22 is INR 14,788 crore or about USD 2 billion.
The Gaganyaan program envisages putting Indian astronauts in space by the year 2022.Incidently, India’s first lunar mission is called Chandrayaan.
The four Indian Air Force pilots who have been chosen to for astronaut training for the Gaganyaan program which includes: Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, a graduate from the defence services military college, Squadron Leader Nikhil Rath and Squadron Leader Shrikant J. Shivaji, from the national defence academy, and Group Captain J. Sharma.
The Indian produced Gaganyaan spacecraft is will be capable of accommodating a total of three astronauts at any given moment.
Aryabhata is India’s first satellite which has been named after the great mathematician and astronomer of India.
The Mars Orbiter Mission, was designed at a very low cost of 75 Million USD EMD this can be considered as one of the cheapest or most efficient mission to MARS.
From over 100 satellites, ISRO has orbited satellites for more than 20 countries of which some of the countries include United States, Canada, Israel among others.
International Space Station (ISS) program has had India as one of its members since the year 2008.
Apart from that, India’s space agency has launched 342 satellites at once in 2017 which is a record.
The first female Indian-origin astronaut was Kalpana Chawla who went on space in Columbia in 1997.
India has made a lot of progress in its space programme that has been relevant to remote sensing, weather forecast and telecommunication.
India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation is targeting end of 2024 to put humans on space with an Indian made rocket.
India have clearly vision to put a space station by the year 2030.
ISRO’s planning and executing authority is headed by Dr. K Sivan who already holds the position of the Chairman.

Important Dates of Indian Space Journey

1962: The first rocket launch in India a ‘sounding rocket’ is launched at Thumba in Kerala.
1975: Aryabhata, India’s first satellite is put into orbit.
1983: Rakesh Sharma also becomes the first Indian citizen to go to the space as part of the intercosmic crew on the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft.
2008: The ISRO launched the first Indian lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, the only unmanned lunar mission at the time of writing this paper.
2013: India sends its first interplanetary mission the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan.
2014: MOM successfully orbits Mars, thus, making India the only nation to achieve a successful orbiting of the Mars on the first try.
2017: ISRO created history by launching 104 satellite at once at a time.
2019: India’s second mission to moon called Chandrayaan-2 which is launched with an objective to sending a rover on the lunar surface at south pole. But, to its negative impact due to the moon and, in specific, the earth’s gravitational pull the lander Vikram met a debacle during the last phase of landing.
2020: India successfully sends its first privately made satellite to space- the Earth Observation Satellite 01(EOS 01).
2021: India sent Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite into orbit, as a part of its first commercial project with a foreign country.

Bharat Ek Soch: India@75 | India's Space Journey | 15 August, 2022

When did India initiated the Space program?
Thus the Indian space programme began in the early 1960s with the inception of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR).

What is the Indian space agency?
The space agency of India is known as the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO for short.

What might be the major aim of the Indian Space Research Organisation?
ISRO’s major objective is to build space technology and apply it to various tasks of the nation.

ISRO’s first satellite is called Aryabhatta spacecraft.
In 1975, ISRO is launched its first satellite Aryabhata named after the famous mathematician- astronomer.

When was Aryabhata launched?
Aryabhata was thus sent to orbit on April, 19 1975 from Kapustin Yar, a space center in Russia.

Another question is the following: Which of ISRO’s missions is the most famous?
ISRO’s most prominent mission is Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission in which a spacecraft was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit in 2014.

It always remained curiosity of heart that who was India’s first astronaut.
It took India more than two decades to send Rakesh Sharma as its first astronaut into outer space in 1984 in a Soyuz T-11 spacecraft that was launched by the Soviet Union.

So far how many satellites have been launched by ISRO?
It has so far launched over one hundred satellites to orbit.

Name : Chandrayaan-1
India only ventured into the Moon for the first time in the year 2008 with the name Chandrayaan-1.

Which brought merely moon orbiters, what was the aim of the Chandrayaan-1 mission?
Chandrayaan-1 was basically intended to map the structure of the lunar surface and to search for the possible existence of water ice on the moon.

What happened in India’s current lunar Mission?
Currently, India has a lunar mission called ‘Chandrayaan-2’ which was launched in the year 2019.

What are the aims of the Chandrayaan-2 ?
Chandrayaan-2’s mission is to explore the south pole area of the moon and to search for existence of water ice.

Where is India’s Mars mission now?
India presently has the Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM-2) which is set for launch in the year 2024.

What is the purpose of MOM-2?
MOM-2 mission is designed to investigate the Martian environment and search for presence of methane as biosignature.

Which is ISRO‘s biggest rocket?
The Saturn V rocket of NASA is the largest currently in use while the largest of ISRO is known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

Most potent rocket designed by ISRO is ?
ISRO’s largest and powerful rocket is currently known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).

What is the maidennatal capacity of GSLV Mk III?
GSLV Mk III has a carrying capacity of up to 4 tons of payload to Geo synchronous transfer orbit and up to 10 tons payload to Low Earth Orbit.

On which commercial website can the product be downloaded?
The commercial wing of ISRO you could name as Antrix Corporation Limited.

What busines does Antrix Corporation Limited?
India’s Antrix Corporation Limited is a company which specialization is in the area of commercial launch services.

So what is the vision of ISRO in longer run?
ISRO in the future, will go about designing space technology and applying it for diversified national tasks like communication, navigation, remote sensing and exploration space.

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