ISRO

Indian Space Research Organisation
Bhāratīya Aṃtarikṣa Anusaṃdhāna Saṃgaṭhana
	ISRO Headquarters at Bengaluru
Agency overview
Formed	15 August 1969; 55 years ago
Preceding agency	INCOSPAR (1962–1969);
Type	Government space agency
Jurisdiction	Department of Space
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka; 13°2′7″N 77°34′16″E
Chairman	S. Somanath
Primary spaceports	Satish Dhawan Space Centre; Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station; Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport;
Owner	Government of India
Employees	19,247 (as on 1 March 2022)
Annual budget	₹13,042 crore (US$1.6 billion) (2024-2025)
Website	www.isro.gov.in

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO /ˈɪsroʊ/)^{[lower-alpha 1]} is India's national space agency. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies.^[3] The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communication and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.

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Formerly known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), it was set up in 1962 by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the recommendation of scientist Vikram Sarabhai. It was renamed as ISRO in 1969 and was subsumed into the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).^[4] The establishment of ISRO institutionalised space research activities in India.^[5]^[6] In 1972, the Government set up a Space Commission and the DoS, bringing ISRO under its purview. It has since then been managed by the DoS, which also governs various other institutions in the domain of astronomy and space technology.^[7]

ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975.^[8] In 1980, it launched the satellite RS-1 onboard SLV-3, making India the seventh country to undertake orbital launches. It has subsequently developed various small-lift and medium-lift launch vehicles, enabling the agency to launch various satellites and deep space missions. It is one of the six government space agencies in the world that possess full launch capabilities with the ability to deploy cryogenic engines, launch extraterrestrial missions and artificial satellites.^[9]^[10]^{[lower-alpha 2]} It is also one of only four governmental space agencies in to have demonstrated unmanned soft landing capabilities.^[11]^{[lower-alpha 3]}

ISRO's programmes have played a significant role in the socio-economic development. It has supported both civilian and military domains in various aspects such as disaster management, telemedicine, navigation and reconnaissance. ISRO's spin-off technologies have also aided in new innovations in engineering and other allied domains.^[12]

History

Formative years

Modern space research in India can be traced to the 1920s, when scientist S. K. Mitra conducted a series of experiments sounding the ionosphere through ground-based radio in Kolkata.^[13] Later, Indian scientists like C.V. Raman and Meghnad Saha contributed to scientific principles applicable in space sciences.^[13] After 1945, important developments were made in coordinated space research in India^[13] by two scientists: Vikram Sarabhai, founder of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad, and Homi Bhabha, who established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945.^[13] Initial experiments in space sciences included the study of cosmic radiation, high-altitude and airborne testing, deep underground experimentation at the Kolar mines—one of the deepest mining sites in the world—and studies of the upper atmosphere.^[14] These studies were done at research laboratories, universities, and independent locations.^[14]^[15]

In 1950, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was founded with Bhabha as its secretary.^[15] It provided funding for space research throughout India.^[16] During this time, tests continued on aspects of meteorology and the Earth's magnetic field, a topic that had been studied in India since the establishment of the Colaba Observatory in 1823. In 1954, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) was established in the foothills of the Himalayas.^[15] The Rangpur Observatory was set up in 1957 at Osmania University, Hyderabad. Space research was further encouraged by the government of India.^[16] In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 and opened up possibilities for the rest of the world to conduct a space launch.^[16]

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up in 1962 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the suggestion of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.^[6] Initially there was no dedicated ministry for the space programme and all activities of INCOSPAR relating to space technology continued to function within the DAE.^[17]^[5] IOFS officers were drawn from the Indian Ordnance Factories to harness their knowledge of propellants and advanced light materials used to build rockets.^[18] H.G.S. Murthy, an IOFS officer, was appointed the first director of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station,^[19] where sounding rockets were fired, marking the start of upper atmospheric research in India.^[20] An indigenous series of sounding rockets named Rohini was subsequently developed and started undergoing launches from 1967 onwards.^[21] Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan, another IOFS officer, developed the propellant for the rockets.

1970's and 1980's

Under the government of Indira Gandhi, INCOSPAR was superseded by ISRO. Later in 1972, a space commission and Department of Space (DoS) were set up to oversee space technology development in India specifically. ISRO was brought under DoS, institutionalising space research in India and forging the Indian space programme into its existing form.^[5]^[7] India joined the Soviet Interkosmos programme for space cooperation^[22] and got its first satellite Aryabhatta in orbit through a Soviet rocket.^[8]

Efforts to develop an orbital launch vehicle began after mastering sounding rocket technology. The concept was to develop a launcher capable of providing sufficient velocity for a mass of 35 kg (77 lb) to enter low Earth orbit. It took 7 years for ISRO to develop Satellite Launch Vehicle capable of putting 40 kg (88 lb) into a 400-kilometre (250 mi) orbit. An SLV Launch Pad, ground stations, tracking networks, radars and other communications were set up for a launch campaign. The SLV's first launch in 1979 carried a Rohini technology payload but could not inject the satellite into its desired orbit. It was followed by a successful launch in 1980 carrying a Rohini Series-I satellite, making India the seventh country to reach Earth's orbit after the USSR, the US, France, the UK, China and Japan. RS-1 was the third Indian satellite to reach orbit as Bhaskara had been launched from the USSR in 1979. Efforts to develop a medium-lift launch vehicle capable of putting 600-kilogram (1,300 lb) class spacecrafts into 1,000-kilometre (620 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit had already begun in 1978.^[23] They would later lead to the development of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).^[24] The SLV-3 later had two more launches before discontinuation in 1983.^[25] ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) was set up in 1985 and started working on a more powerful engine, Vikas, based upon the French Viking.^[26] Two years later, facilities to test liquid-fuelled rocket engines were established and development and testing of various rocket engines thrusters began.^[27]

At the same time, another solid-fuelled rocket, the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), whose design was based upon SLV-3 was being developed, with technologies to launch satellites into geostationary orbit (GTO). The ASLV had limited success and multiple launch failures; it was soon discontinued.^[28] Alongside these developments, communication satellite technologies for the Indian National Satellite System^[29] and the Indian Remote Sensing Programme for earth observation satellites^[30] were developed and launches from overseas were initiated. The number of satellites eventually grew and the systems were established as among the largest satellite constellations in the world, with multi-band communication, radar imaging, optical imaging and meteorological satellites.^[31]

1990s

The arrival of the PSLV in 1990s was a major boost for the Indian space programme. With the exception of its first flight in 1994 and two partial failures later, the PSLV had a streak of more than 50 successful flights. The PSLV enabled India to launch all of its low Earth orbit satellites, small payloads to GTO and hundreds of foreign satellites.^[32] Along with the PSLV flights, development of a new rocket, a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was going on. India tried to obtain upper-stage cryogenic engines from Russia's Glavkosmos but was blocked by the US from doing so. As a result, KVD-1 engines were imported from Russia under a new agreement which had limited success^[33] and a project to develop indigenous cryogenic technology was launched in 1994, taking two decades to reach fulfillment.^[34] A new agreement was signed with Russia for seven KVD-1 cryogenic stages and a ground mock-up stage with no technology transfer, instead of five cryogenic stages along with the technology and design in the earlier agreement.^[35] These engines were used for the initial flights and were named GSLV Mk.1.^[36] ISRO was under US government sanctions between 6 May 1992 to 6 May 1994.^[37] After the United States refused to help India with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology during the Kargil war, ISRO was prompted to develop its own satellite navigation system IRNSS (now NaVIC i.e. Navigation with Indian Constellation) which it is now expanding further.^[38]

21st century

In 2003, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee urged scientists to develop technologies to land humans on the Moon^[39] and programmes for lunar, planetary and crewed missions were started. ISRO launched Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, purportedly the first probe to verify the presence of water on the Moon,^[40] and the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, the first Asian spacecraft to enter Martian orbit, making India the first country to succeed at this on its first attempt.^[41] Subsequently, the cryogenic upper stage for GSLV rocket became operational, making India the sixth country to have full launch capabilities.^[42] A new heavier-lift launcher LVM3 was introduced in 2014 for heavier satellites and future human space missions.^[43]

On 23 August 2023, India achieved its first soft landing on an extraterrestrial body and became the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole with ISRO's Chandrayaan-3, the third Moon mission.^[44] Indian moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 (translated as "mooncraft" in English), saw the successful soft landing of its Vikram lander at 6.04pm IST (1234 GMT) near the little-explored region of the Moon in a world's first for any space programme.^[45] India then successfully launched its first sun probe, the Aditya-L1, aboard a PSLV on September 2.^[46]^[47]

Agency logo

ISRO did not have an official logo until 2002. The one adopted consists of an orange arrow shooting upwards attached with two blue coloured satellite panels with the name of ISRO written in two sets of text, orange-coloured Devanagari on the left and blue-coloured English in the Prakrta typeface on the right.^[48]^[49]

Goals and objectives

As the national space agency of India, ISRO's purpose is the pursuit of all space-based applications such as research, reconnaissance, and communications. It undertakes the design and development of space rockets and satellites, and undertakes explores upper atmosphere and deep space exploration missions. ISRO has also incubated technologies in India's private space sector, boosting its growth.^[50]^[51]

On the topic of the importance of a space programme to India as a developing nation, Vikram Sarabhai as INSCOPAR chair said in 1969:^[52]^[53]^[54]

To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the Moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, which we find in our country. And we should note that the application of sophisticated technologies and methods of analysis to our problems is not to be confused with embarking on grandiose schemes, whose primary impact is for show rather than for progress measured in hard economic and social terms.

The former president of India and chairman of DRDO, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, said:^[55]

Very many individuals with myopic vision questioned the relevance of space activities in a newly independent nation which was finding it difficult to feed its population. But neither Prime Minister Nehru nor Prof. Sarabhai had any ambiguity of purpose. Their vision was very clear: if Indians were to play a meaningful role in the community of nations, they must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to their real-life problems. They had no intention of using it merely as a means of displaying our might.

India's economic progress has made its space programme more visible and active as the country aims for greater self-reliance in space technology.^[56] In 2008, India launched as many as 11 satellites, including nine from other countries, and went on to become the first nation to launch 10 satellites on one rocket.^[56] ISRO has put into operation two major satellite systems: the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) for communication services, and the Indian Remote Sensing Programme (IRS) satellites for management of natural resources.^[29]^[31]

Organisation structure and facilities

ISRO is managed by the DOS, which itself falls under the authority of the Space Commission and manages the following agencies and institutes:^[57]^[58]^[59]

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
Antrix Corporation – The marketing arm of ISRO, Bengaluru
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad
National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki, Andhra Pradesh
NewSpace India Limited – Commercial wing, Bengaluru
North-Eastern Space Applications Centre^[60] (NE-SAC), Umiam
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram – India's space university