50 years of Aryabhata: India's journey through Space Age

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On April 19, 1975, India achieved a significant milestone in space technology as it launched its first satellite, Aryabhata
शं नो द्यावापृथिवी पूर्वहूतौ शमन्तरिक्षं दृशये नो अस्तु ।
शं न ओषधीर्वनिनो भवन्तु शं नो रजसस्पतिरस्तु जिष्णुः ||
— ऋग्वेदः सूक्तं ७.३५
'May the heaven and earth invoked since eternity in the first yajna, and the middle regions so charming to see be good for our peace and joy. May the herbs instilled with the vitality of sun rays be for our peace and joy of good health, and may the victorious lord of life on earth and in distant regions be good and bring us peace, prosperity and happiness.'
— Rig Veda
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Space has long captivated the human imagination, with mythological tales across cultures often alluding to celestial journeys and cosmic realms. India is no exception, with its rich heritage of stories that reflect a deep-rooted fascination with the universe.
On the evening of November 21, 1963—about half an hour after sunset—India took its first nascent step into space technology. From the newly established Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) launched a 715 kg Nike-Apache sounding rocket. It soared to an altitude of 200 kms, releasing a brilliant sodium vapor cloud in the upper atmosphere that lit up the twilight sky—a modest yet momentous beginning for India's space programme.
On August 15, 1969, India established Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Department of Atomic Energy, which replaced the erstwhile INCOSPAR. However, it was only in June 1972 that India established Department of Space (DOS) and brought ISRO under its purview.
Aryabhata: India joins the space club
On April 19, 1975, India achieved a significant milestone in space technology as it launched its first satellite, Aryabhata. The satellite was carried aboard a Soviet Kosmos-3M launch vehicle from the Kapustin Yar spaceport in Astrakhan Oblast as spart of the Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme. Aryabhata remained in contact with ground stations until March 1981.
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Aryabhata remained in contact with ground stations until March 1981
To commemorate this achievement, the Government of India featured the satellite's image on the reverse side of the Rs 2 banknote, which remained in circulation from 1976 to 1997.
Rohini Satellites: India's Orbital Genesis
From 1979 to 1983, India conducted a series of four experimental satellite launches under the Rohini programme, which employed the indigenously developed four-stage solid-propellant Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3).
From 1979 to 1983, India conducted a series of four experimental satellite launches under the Rohini programme
These missions were aimed at validating launch vehicle performance, orbit injection accuracy, and establishing indigenous capability in satellite deployment.
ISRO used the indigenously developed 'Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV)'. For each of these launches from its launchpad at Sriharikota High Altitude Range. The satellites were named as: Rohini Technology Payload (RTP), Rohini RS-1, Rohini RS-D1 and Rohini RS-D2. RS-1 was India's first successful satellite launch and India joined an elite group of countries to reach Earth's orbit after the USSR, the US, France, the UK, China and Japan.
On July 18, 1981 Department of Posts commemorated Rohini Satellites by issuing a 1 Rupee postage stamp and a First Day Cover. The First Day Cover shows SLV-3 being transported to the launcher while the stamp shows the launch of SLV 3 Rocket with diagram of Rohini satellite.
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PSLV: The Workhorse of India's Space Missions
As the Cold War neared its end in late 1980s, India felt the need to move away from foreign launch vehicles for launching its own satellites. An indigenous platform not only meant strategic autonomy but also saving of precious foreign exchange.
Thus, the workhorse of India's space programme, PSLV, was born.
The first launcher in this series was PSLV-G which powered the PSLV-D1 mission on 20 September 1993 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
Till date, PSLV has had 63 launches, out of which 59 have been successful giving it an incredible success rate of 93.65 per cent! Some of the notable launches by PSLV include: PSLV-C2 which deployed Oceansat-1, DLR-Tubsat, and Kitsat-3, PSLV-C28 which successfully deployed 5 satellites, PSLV-C34 which deployed a record breaking 20 satellites from different countries in a single flight, PSLV-C35 which was the first mission to deploy satellites in 2 different orbits, PSLV-C57 which deployed India's first solar observatory Aditya-L1, PSLV-C56 which deployed a Singapore satellite along with 6 smaller satellites.
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On April 10, 2015 Department of Posts released a set of 2 stamps of 25 Rupees and 5 Rupees in a Joint Issue with France to commemorate 50 years of space cooperation between the two countries. The 5 Rupees stamp shows the Satellite 'Megha-Tropiques' which was launched by PSLV in 2011 in orbit around Earth. The 25 Rupees stamp shows the 'Satellite with ARgos and ALtika' (SARAL), which was launched by PSLV in 2013, orbiting the Earth with the Map of India in the background.
On April 10, 2015 Department of Posts released a set of 2 stamps of 25 Rupees and 5 Rupees in a Joint Issue with France to commemorate 50 years of space cooperation between the two countries
Reaching for the Moon
The Chandrayaan missions also known as the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme, is India's ambitious pursuit of moon exploration. On October 22, 2008, Chandrayaan-1 was launched aboard PSLV. The mission was extremely successful as the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) landed near the Lunar South Pole and made the historic discovery of existence of water on Moon.
On September 6, 2019, Chandrayaan-2 crash landed on moon's surface during its descent.
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Not to be deterred, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 mission and on August 23, 2023, Vikram lander made history by becoming the first human endeavour to land on the Lunar South Pole.
Taare Zameen Par
From Aryabhata to Chandrayaan-3, India's space missions reflect a saga of resilience, innovation, and vision.
India has launched successful missions which have not only enhanced communication, weather forecasting, navigation, resource management but also saved precious foreign exchange and made India a key player in global space economy.
India's space journey is no longer just about reaching the stars — it is about shaping the future. It is also about carrying the aspirations of a billion Indians with one cosmic milestone at a time.
Krishna Kant Sharma (X: @krishnakant_75) is a New Delhi-based technology professional with experience in IT, Telecom & Digital Transformation domains. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.