50 Facts About ISRO That Will Make You Feel Immense Proud

1. ISRO was established in 1969, 8 years after Pakistan established Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in 1961. ISRO has completed 120 mission and 74 satellite launches,  but SUPARCO has only been able to launch two satellites (both from foreign soil and with foreign assistance).

2. ISRO’s headquarter is in Bengaluru, Karnataka. India is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

3. ISRO’s spaceport is located at Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota High Altitude Range.

4. Indian Space Program began at Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) located at Thumba near Thiruvanathapuram. Thumba was selected because the geomagnetic equator of the earth passes over Thumba. It is currently used by ISRO for launching Rohini series sounding rockets.

5. ISRO’s first satellite, Aryabhata it was launched on 19 April, 1975 from Kapustin Yar rocket launch and development site using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle by the Soviet Union.

6. SLV-3 was India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. The vehicle was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 18, 1980. It placed the Rohini series satellite which was India's first spacecraft to be launched from Indian soil. The Augmented SLV was launched in 1987, ASLV proved to be a low cost intermediate vehicle to demonstrate and validate critical technologies, that would be needed for the future launch vehicles like strap-on technology, inertial navigation, bulbous heat shield, vertical integration and closed loop guidance.

7. President A P J Abdul Kalam was the Project Director of SLV-3. The SLV-3 weighed 17 tonne and had a payload of 40 kg. The SLV-3 put 35 kg Rohini Satellite into the orbit. He later headed the prestigious integrated missile development program at DRDO.

8. These iconic images is a metaphor as to how the high-tech Indian space program coexists with general impoverishment. Contrary to the general belief that India’s didn’t have trucks in 1980s, this is a classic example of the supposedly unique Indian concept of Jugaad. The day when the photo was taken they were taking the satellite out for an antenna-range test. With a basic understanding of physics, it is well-known that testing an antenna by placing it, in the bed of a truck isn’t the best since the truck is metallic. The simplest work-around was to use a wooden bullock cart.

9. ISRO is one of the six space agencies in the world with the capability to build and launch satellites from its own soil.

      

10. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is regarded as the father of Indian Space Program.

11. ISRO’s last 40 years expenditure is about half of NASA’s single year budget.

12. ISRO’s budget is only 0.34 per cent of the central government expenditure at present and 0.08 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There is so little to offer, but in turn ISRO has got more in return to offer back to the nation.

13. The INSAT series of satellites were launched by the ISRO to reduce dependence on foreign satellites and to increase local telecommunication, broadcasting, distant eduction and  for search and rescue operations. It is the largest domestic Communication satellite constellation in the Asia-Pacific region.

14. India operates the most sophisticated and by far the largest civilian Remote sensing satellite programs in the world. ISRO has launched the CARTOSAT to develop a map of the whole country. The map will tell data about the country’s physical and biological resources and their distribution throughout the country.

15. India recently launched its first dedicated defense satellite, GSAT-7 for the Indian Navy. An “eye-in-the-sky” system for the Air Force is also being considered. Though publicly not acknowledged, the Technology Experiment Satellite or (TES) was a satellite to demonstrate and validate in orbit technologies. The launch of TES made India the second country in the world after the United States that could take pictures with one meter resolution. In a significant development, TES helped the US army with high-resolution images during the 9/11 counter-terrorism offensive against the Taliban. TES was launched in 2001 immediately after the Kargil war.

16. The heaviest satellite launched by ISRO was 5 ton. It was launched in 2001 and it is still active.

17. One of India’s most ambitious dreams of developing an indigenous cryogenic engine became a reality on 5 Jan, 2015 when its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5), effortlessly put a communication satellite into a perfect orbit.

18. ISRO is also developing a more powerful cryogenic engine, designated the C25 and will be powered by burning LOX and LH2, producing 186 kilonewtons (19.0 tf) of thrust. The C-25 will be 4 meters (13 ft) in diameter and 13.5 metres (44 ft) long, and contain 27 tonnes of propellant. The engine was successfully test-fired for 645 seconds in April 2015. This significant development will push India into an elite league of nations capable of launching satellites weighing up to five tonnes.

19. GSLV Mark III is the heaviest next generation rocket, conceived and designed to make ISRO self reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, which weigh 4,500 to 5,000 kg. Once operational, this rocket will have the capability to ferry four-tonne class of Insat series of communication satellites, which are currently being launched through Arianespace. A suborbital flight test of the launcher, was successfully carried out on 18 December 2014, and was used to test the human-rated orbital vehicle called Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) in a suborbital trajectory.

20. ISRO is working on a Human Spaceflight Program to undertake a human spaceflight mission to carry a crew three astronauts for seven days to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and return them safely to a predefined destination on earth. The first sub-orbital flight was successfully carried out on a GSLV MK III vehicle on 18 December 2014.

21. India has its own Space Shuttle program, the scaled prototype version is called Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstration or RLV–TD Program, the full-scale version is called Aerobic Vehicle for Transatmospheric Hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation (AVATAR). ISRO announced that it will conduct a maiden technology demonstration mission in August 2015. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies like hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion technology.

22. AVATAR is expected to bring down the cost of satellite launches by around 90 percent. The launch vehicle will land in the ocean during its first attempt but the ultimate aim is to make it land on an airstrip like a civilian aircraft. The vehicle will fly into outer space at March 5.0 speed, deliver the payload and then return back to Earth. The speed would be controlled by the fins and protective tiles installed will protect the vehicle during its turbulent re-entry in the dense atmospheric regime. RLV-TD weighs 1.5 tonne and it is proposed to bring down the cost of placing a 1 kg satellite from the present $5,000 to one-tenth of its cost, $500.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

23. As of 29 March 2015 the PSLV has made 29 launches, with 27 successfully reaching their planned orbits, out of which 25 have been consecutive successful launches.

24. ISRO has 13 centers spread all across India, namely, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Space Applications Centre (SAC), Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU), ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), INSAT Master Control Facility (MCF), ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), National Mesosphere/Stratosphere Troposphere Radar Facility (NMRF).

25. Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first unmanned lunar probe. India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the moon. The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008. Thus, India joined an elite group of nations involved in lunar exploration which included US, Russia, China and Japan. Chandrayaan-1 had a mass of 1,380 kilograms (3,042 lb) at launch and 675 kilograms (1,488 lb) in lunar orbit. It carried high-resolution remote sensing equipment for visible, near infrared, and soft and hard X-ray frequencies. Over a two-year period, it is intended to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and three-dimensional topography. ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 cost 386 crore rupees which is almost 9 times less than what NASA spends on a similar exploration.

26. Chandrayaan mission achieved 95 percent of its planned objectives. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil. From the data collected from Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO scientists discovered a giant underground chamber on the moon, which could be used as a lunar base by astronauts for inter-planetary missions.

27. Chandrayaan-2 has been rescheduled to 2016 due to some technical difficulties. This is orbiter, lander and rover mission with a payload of about 2.6 tons. The rover will weigh 30–100 kg and will operate on solar power.

28. Chandrayaan-1 carried scientific payloads from NASA, ESA and the Bulgarian Space Agency.

29. When Pakistani troops took positions in Kargil in 1999, one of the first things Indian military sought was GPS data for the region. The space-based navigation system maintained by the US government (GPS) would have provided vital information, but the US denied it to India. A need for an indigenous satellite navigation system was felt earlier, but the Kargil experience made the nation realise its inevitability. This led to the development and launching of the IRNSS constellation of satellites.

30. On July 1, 2013, India became the 6th country in the world to launch its own dedicated navigation satellite System. IRNSS 1A would provide accurate real-time positioning and timing information to users in the country, extending up to 1,500 km around the nation. IRNSS would have a total of seven satellites, out of which four are already placed in orbit.

31. Current GPS receivers and mobile phones will be incompatible with the IRNSS navigation satellites.

32. GAGAN is a system designed by ISRO to receive signal from GPS (USA’s GNSS service) and refine it in a number of way to provide more accurate data for Indian subcontinent mostly for civil usage.

33. Bhuvan is a web-based 3D satellite imagery tool developed by ISRO. It is the desi form of Google Earth.

34. In September of 2012, ISRO completed its 100th space mission with the launch of two foreign satellites.

35. Creating history, ISRO's Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) successfully entered the orbit of the red planet. No country has ever had a successful Mars mission at the first attempt. Only 3 countries have sent successful Martian missions. India is the 4th. Many across the world have been dumbstruck at the low cost of India's Mars Orbiter mission. The golden satellite, approximately the size of a Nano car, was put together in a record time of 15 months. ISRO had for the first time used very high levels of automation to complete Mars orbit insertion of the spacecraft. This is the most complex maneuver ever attempted by ISRO.

36. There is a “Mangala Valles” on Mars, named for the Hindi word for Mars.

37. Mangalayaan traveled 780 Million kms for Rs 450 Crore or approximately Rs. 6 per km. That is less than what most autorickshaws charge in India.

38. ISRO is planning a mission to Venus by May 2017 to study its atmosphere. The probe will carry at least five instruments.

39. ISRO plans to carry out an unmanned astronomical mission to the Sun. The probe is named as Aditya-1 (another name for Sun) and will weigh about 400 kg.

40. India will develops a new series of SLV, which will replace both the PSLV and GSLV series. ISRO's Unified Launch Vehicle (ULV) embraces the concept of creating a launcher family with varying lift capability through modular integration of reliable rocket engines to meet requirements from mission to mission by varying the propulsion system with considerable cost advantage. The ULV family of rockets would be built using two workhorse engines - the under development Semin Cryogenic Engine (SCE) and the the Indian Cryogenic Engine (ICE).

41. ISRO has set up a astronaut training center in Bangalore to prepare personnel for flights on board the crewed vehicle. The center will use simulation facilities to train the selected astronauts in rescue and recovery operations and survival in zero gravity, and will undertake studies of the radiation environment of space.

42. Antrix is the commercial wing of ISRO, a single window agency for marketing Indian space capabilities, both products and services to the world.

43. Antrix has partnered in the success and growth of companies worldwide by offering best-in-class and cost effective space solutions and services. Some of the major companies are EADS-Astrium, Agrani, SES-New Skies, Mitsubishi Electric, EoTec, Israeli Aircraft Industries, Hughes, PanAmSat, Eutelsat, Ipstar, Zee TV, Sun TV, KAIST, Aaj Tak, ETV, NDTV, GeoEye, Immarsat, Star News, CNBC-18, TATA Sky, Dish TV, Raj TV, WorldSpace,  DLR among others.

44. ISRO has helped other countries in launching their satellites into the desired orbits. To date, it has launched about 35 foreign satellites. Some of the key countries are Israel, France, Canada, Germany, Korea, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, Argentina, Singapore, Austria, Denmark, UK among others.

45. ISRO is also developing a semi-cryogenic engine, the project envisages the design and development of a 2000 kN engine for a future heavy-lift Unified Launch Vehicle (ULV) and Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). Space faring nations like Russia and the US have been using the semi-cryogenic engines for decades. The semi-cryo engine uses a combination of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and ISROSENE (propellant-grade kerosene), which are eco-friendly and cost-effective propellants. The regular cryogenic engine uses Liquid Oxygen (LOX - Oxygen liquefies at -183 deg C) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2 - Hydrogen at -253 deg C) as fuel, cryogenic engines are technically very complex systems in comparison to solid or earth-stored liquid propellant stages due to its use of propellants at extremely low temperatures and the associated thermal, structural and distribution problems. Godrej Aerospace, a division of Godrej & Boyce Ltd, has been mandated by ISRO to produce these engines.

46. The Indian Space Research Organization is set to test its sophisticated, indigenously-built, multi-object tracking radar (MOTR) on a PSLV rocket flight next month. The state-of-the-art radar can track 10 objects simultaneously up to 30cm by 30cm at distance of 800km. The software for operating the system and analyzing the data was developed in-house.

47. Current DTH services providers in India rely on satellites launched by ISRO, but the progress of DTH operators has been impeded due to the nonavailability of transponders. ISRO is working on launching more transponders.

48. Apart from bigwigs from ISRO and other related space bodies, two of India's biggest industrialists – Ratan Tata and Jamshyd Godrej – are on the board.

49. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma of Indian Air Force became the first Indian to fly in space in 1984 as part of a joint program between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Soviet Intercosmos space program. He was awarded "Hero of the Soviet Union" prize by the Soviet Union. He is also the winner of Ashoka Chakra India's highest peacetime military award for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.

50. SAGA-220 supercomputer created by ISRO in May 2011 was the fastest supercomputer in India at the time of its launch. It is capable of performing 220 teraflops. Prithivi is currently the fastest Indian supercomputer capable of reaching a theoretical peak of 790.7 terraflops. Prithivi was designed for Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. (Adapted from ISRO, Wiki & other Internet Sources)