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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Science
- New Indian Express
India's space odyssey: From ancient stargazers to lunar landings
BENGALURU: From ancient stargazers and astronomers to the invention of zero and grand architectural marvels aligned with celestial events, India's scientific temper was evident long before the space age began. Naturally, this spirit paved the way for advancements in rocketry and space exploration. After gaining Independence, precisely 78 years ago on August 15, 1947, India emerged onto the global scientific stage just as the Cold War began, and the USA and USSR embarked on a fierce Space Race. While the superpowers competed for supremacy, India took a different path, one rooted in harnessing space technology to address developmental challenges. That same year, Dr Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), hailed as the father of India's space programme, founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad. He initially focused on cosmic ray and upper-atmosphere research, gradually expanding into broader space science. Sarabhai envisioned that space technology could aid national development, especially in weather forecasting, telecommunications, and resource management. India's space journey began in 1961 when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru placed space research under the Department of Atomic Energy. A year later, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established under Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, with Vikram Sarabhai as chairman. Thumba in Kerala, near the magnetic equator, was chosen as the site for the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS). A local church became the first control room. On November 21, 1963, India launched its first rocket, a Nike-Apache, with parts transported on bicycles. INCOSPAR evolved into the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on August 15, 1969. In 1972, ISRO was brought under the newly formed Department of Space (DOS). India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched in 1975. In 1971, ISRO set up the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV-3, flew in 1979. The 1981 launch of the experimental satellite APPLE from French Guiana paved the way for the INSAT series, starting in 1982, supporting weather, telecom, and broadcasting services.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
India's space race: From bullock carts to Gaganyaan
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads When Dr Vikram Sarabhai uttered those words, India was yet to become the thriving contender for space that it is today. But words hold power. More so when one envisions a future many think is too far-fetched. That visionary, and India's father of space research, Dr Sarabhai, dared to imagine rockets launching from Indian soil not as a luxury, but as a necessity. A means to lift millions through technology, education, and started as a simple prototype, built within the humble confinements of a tiny outhouse in his Ahmedabad home, would soon take flight, inching India closer to a future once thought is the story of how one dream, one vision, and one relentless aspiration propelled a third-world country into the race for hard to imagine now, but India's space programme began in a small church on the shores of Kerala. In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) chose Thumba, a quiet fishing village near Thiruvananthapuram, as the site for its first rocket launch station. The reason was as practical as it was poetic: it sat almost exactly on the magnetic equator, an ideal location for atmospheric St. Mary Magdalene Church became the control room. The adjoining bishop's house turned into the office. The images from those days have become iconic symbols of how resourcefulness filled the gaps that money could November 21, 1963, India launched its first sounding rocket, a small Nike-Apache supplied by the United States. It was a modest start, but it marked the moment India had officially entered the space age. ISRO and India's first satellitesOn 15th August 1969, INCOSPAR evolved into the Indian Space Research Organisation — ISRO — with Vikram Sarabhai as its first chairman. Its mission was clear: to harness space technology for national development, whether in weather forecasting, telecommunications, education, or resource first big leap came in 1975, when India launched its first satellite, Aryabhata , named after the ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer. Though it was built in India, the launch took place from the Soviet Union's Kapustin Yar site. Aryabhata stayed in orbit for nearly 17 the years that followed, satellites like Bhaskara (for Earth observation) and APPLE (for experimental communication) expanded India's capabilities. APPLE's launch in 1981 was particularly memorable, notably for the image of the satellite being transported on a bullock cart to test facilities, a reminder of how far ambition could stretch limited the late 1980s, India was no longer just a participant in the space race, it was becoming a contender with its own launch vehicles, setting the stage for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV ) programme that would define ISRO's global the early 1990s, ISRO introduced the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle — the PSLV — a rocket designed to place satellites into polar orbits. It wasn't an overnight success; the first flight in 1993 failed. But by its second attempt in 1994, the PSLV had found its footing, and over time, it became ISRO's most reliable launch vehicle, with a success rate that drew clients from across the PSLV's crowning moment came in February 2017, when it launched 104 satellites in a single mission, shattering the previous world rocket went on to carry some of ISRO's most ambitious missions beyond Earth's orbit. In 2008, PSLV launched Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, which famously discovered evidence of water molecules on the lunar surface. Then, in 2013, came the Mars Orbiter Mission — Mangalyaan — which made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit and the first in the world to do so in its maiden attempt. At just $74 million, it became a symbol of frugality meeting innovation, earning global Mangalyaan proved India's interplanetary capability, the next decade showed its staying power. After Chandrayaan-2's lander crashed during its 2019 Moon landing attempt, ISRO returned with Chandrayaan-3 in 2023. This time, the Vikram lander touched down flawlessly near the lunar south pole, a feat no other nation had achieved, and the Pragyan rover began exploring the surface, sending back images and data that would deepen lunar 2023, ISRO also launched Aditya-L1, its first dedicated mission to study the Sun. Placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1, the spacecraft began observing solar winds, flares, and coronal mass ejections, knowledge crucial not just for science, but for protecting satellites and communications on missions weren't just technological successes, they also set the stage for ISRO's most ambitious leap yet: sending humans into path in space has not been without its hurdles which often included geopolitical and racial challenges. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, when ISRO was developing the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), the United States imposed sanctions on India's space program under technology transfer sanctions slowed progress and challenged India's efforts to build indigenous heavy-lift launch capabilities. Yet, instead of succumbing to external pressure, ISRO doubled down on innovation, eventually mastering cryogenic engine technology and launching the GSLV Mark III, which now powers missions like Gaganyaan A particularly galling moment came when the New York Times published a cartoon depicting Indian farmers as backward and excluded from the global 'elite space club.' The image sparked widespread outrage in India for reducing a complex society to tired stereotypes and undermining the nation's hard-won scientific was a souring reminder of the prevailing Western prejudices that can distort perceptions of India's upcoming Gaganyaan mission represents the culmination of six decades of grit, innovation, and unwavering ambition. Scheduled for launch in late 2025, this human spaceflight program aims to send Indian astronauts, called vyomanauts, into low Earth orbit, marking India's first crewed mission to Vikram Sarabhai's vision remains the guiding star. As India prepares to send its first astronauts into space, that vision of purpose beyond prestige has never been clearer.
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First Post
18-06-2025
- Science
- First Post
50 years of Aryabhata: India's journey through Space Age
India's space journey is no longer just about reaching the stars — it is about shaping the future read more 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 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.
