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.
The 1990s brought major breakthroughs. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), first launched in 1994, became ISRO’s workhorse, later powering missions like Chandrayaan-1 (2008) and Mangalyaan (2013). The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) debuted in 2001, enabling heavier payloads. The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) program, operational since 1988, provided key data for agriculture, water, and disaster management.
Chandrayaan-1 discovered water on the Moon. Though Chandrayaan-2’s lander crashed in 2019, the orbiter remains active. On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully near the lunar south pole, a global first. The rover explored the Shiv Shakti Point, firmly establishing India as a major space power.
On the interplanetary front, Mangalyaan was a game-changer. Launched on November 5, 2013, and successfully orbiting Mars by September 24, 2014, it made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars, and the only country to do so on its first attempt. The mission provided valuable data on Martian surface features and atmosphere, all at a fraction of the cost of comparable missions.
In the last few weeks India has been very active in space. It sent its first astronaut – Gp Capt Subhanshu Shukla – to the International Space Station on board the Axiom-4 Space mission; and launched the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite to provide more sophisticated data on earth, oceans glaciers and ice and forewarn about impending natural disasters. This happened 41 years after Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space on a Soviet space mission.
Looking ahead, ISRO is preparing for Chandrayaan-4, which aims to bring lunar samples back to Earth. The Gaganyaan mission, India’s first crewed spaceflight, is also on the horizon. The country is also planning to establish the Bharatiya Antriksh Station (BAS) — a modular space station, signaling long-term ambitions in low Earth orbit, besides forays planned to Mars. Sky is now not the limit for India.
AIMING HIGH
1962: India’s space programme begins with the Indian government establishing INCOSPAR under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
1963: First sounding rocket launched
1972: Space Commission and Department of Space constituted, and ISRO brought under government control
1975: India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched
1982: INSAT-1A launched to trigger a series of communication satellites
1988: India launches IRS-1A
2008: India reaches the Moon’s orbit with Chandrayaan-1
2014: Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) launched
2023: India lands on Moon with successful touchdown of Chandrayaan-3