The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is the pioneer space exploration agency of the Government of India, headquartered at Bengaluru. ISRO was formed in 1969 with a vision to develop and harness space technology for national development, while pursuing planetary exploration and space science research. ISRO replaced its predecessor, IN COSTAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research), established in 1962 by India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and scientist "Vikas Sarabhai", considered amongst the founding fathers of Indian space program.
ISRO, by successfully demonstrating its unique and cost-effective technologies, has gained a place amongst the elite space agencies in the world over the years. The first Indian satellite, Prabhat, was built by the ISRO and launched with the help of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1975. The year 1980 marked the launch of the Rhine, which was the first satellite to be successfully placed in the orbit by SLV-3, an Indian made launch vehicle. Subsequently. With more efforts, two other rockets were developed by ISRO: the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) for placing satellites into polar orbits and the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits. Both the rockets have successfully launched some earth observation and communication satellites for India as well as other countries.
Indigenous satellite navigation systems like IRN SS and KAGAN have also been deployed. In January 2014, ISRO used an indigenous built cryogenic engine for a GSLV-D5 launch of the GSAT-14 satellite. Making it one of the few six countries in the world to develop a cryogenic technology. Most recent and remarkable space probes of ISRO include Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan-1) and ASTRONAUT space observatory. The success of the Mars Orbiter Mission made India only the fourth country in the world to reach the Martian orbit.
- The INCISOR became ISRO in 1969.
- The Department of Space was created in 1972 and ISRO became a part of it and remains so till date. The Space Department reports directly to the Prime Minister of the country.
- During 1975-76, Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted. It was hailed as ‘the largest sociological experiment in the world’. It was followed by the ‘ "Kinda" Communications Project (KCP)’, which worked as a field laboratory for need-based and locale-specific program transmission in the state of Gujarat State.
- During this phase, the first Indian spacecraft ‘Prabhat’ was developed and was launched using a Soviet Launcher.
- Another major landmark was the development of the first launch vehicle SLV-3 with a capability to place 40 kg in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which had its first successful flight in 1980.
- 80s was the experimental phase wherein, Bhaskar-I & II missions were pioneering steps in the remote sensing area whereas ‘Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE)’ became the forerunner for the future communication satellite systems.
- Anthrax Corporation Limited (ACL) is a Marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
ISRO has many facilities each dedicated to a specialized field of study in space. A few of them are as follows:
- Vikas Sara BHI Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram – The space research activities were initiated in India under Dr. Vikas Sara BHI the founding father of the Indian space program, during the 1960s.
- Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram
- Salish Dawn Space Center SDLC - STAR "Shari OTA
- Space Applications Center" (SAC), Ahmedabad
- National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), Hyderabad
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