The Indian Space Research Organization is the space agency of India headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration."
Formed in 1969, ISRO superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) established in 1962 by the efforts of independent India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalized space activities in India. It is managed by the Department of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of India.
ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975. It was named after the mathematician Aryabhata. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3. ISRO subsequently developed two other rockets: the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for launching satellites into polar orbits and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits. These rockets have launched numerous communications satellites and earth observation satellites. Satellite navigation systems like GAGAN and IRNSS have been deployed. In January 2014, ISRO used an indigenous cryogenic engine in a GSLV-D5 launch of the GSAT-14.
ISRO sent a lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, on 22 October 2008 and a Mars orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission, on 5 November 2013, which entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, making India the first nation to succeed on its first attempt to Mars, and ISRO the fourth space agency in the world as well as the first space agency in Asia to reach Mars orbit. On 18 June 2016, ISRO set a record with a launch of twenty satellites in a single payload, one being a satellite from Google. On 15 February 2017, ISRO launched one hundred and four satellites in a single rocket (PSLV-C37) and created a world record. ISRO launched its heaviest rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III), on 5 June 2017 and placed a communications satellite GSAT-19 in orbit. With this launch, ISRO became capable of launching 4-ton heavy satellites into GTO.
Future plans include the development of Unified Launch Vehicle, Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, development of a reusable launch vehicle, human spaceflight, controlled soft lunar landing, interplanetary probes, and a solar spacecraft mission.
Gearing up for its maiden manned space mission ''Gaganyaan", ISRO unveiled its Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The space organization is gearing up for the human spaceflight programme by 2021-end that is likely to comprise a woman astronaut.
Gaganyaan is the "highest priority" for ISRO in 2019, according to the space agency, and the plan is to have the first unmanned mission in December 2020 and second for July 2021.
Once this is finished the manned assignment will happen in December 2021.
K Kasturirangan, former ISRO Chairman, in the attendance of K Sivan, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, inaugurated the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) Wednesday at ISRO Headquarter campus in Bengaluru, the space agency said on its website.
Directors of other ISRO Centres, former Chairman, and other dignitary were also present, it said, the addition that a full-scale replica of Gaganyaans crew module was also unveiled during the event.
HSFC shall be accountable for completion of Gaganyaan project which involves end-to-end mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew endurance in space, crew selection and training and also follow behavior for continued human space flight missions, ISRO said.
It will take the maintaining of existing ISRO centers to execute the first expansion flight of Gaganyaan under the human spaceflight programmed.
S Unnikrishnan Nair is the founder director of HSFC, while R Hutton is the project director of Gaganyaan.
The Union Cabinet gave its nod for the Rs. 9,023 crore programmes recently.
