The birth and rise of ISRO
By Aniket Gupta | 30 Jan 2024
Innovation is the key to progress, and for ISRO, innovation is a way of life.
Since 1969 India has been reaching for the skies. Literally. And the agency that is helping it do that is the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), an organization made up of scientific brilliance and grit.
From its humble beginnings in 1969, it is now reaching out to the Moon, Mars, and the Sun. And it has even more ambitious plans for the future. But its beginnings were as ambitious as they are today, and it is those ambitions that have sustained this space agency.
The space race begins
The era was the 1950s. It had merely been a decade since the brutal World War II had ended, and the world was just starting to restore peace. But if only establishing peace was that easy. Behind closed doors, the U.S. Congress and the Kremlin in the Soviet Union were preparing their own new race — the space race.
On 30th July 1955, the United States of America announced that it wanted to launch satellites into space. In response to this announcement, the Soviet Union, now known as Russia, announced that it would work intensively to launch a satellite of their own in the near future.
Finally, on 4th October 1957, the Soviet Union achieved the milestone of launching the first satellite into space, Sputnik 1. Four years later, on 12th April 1961, Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut, became the first-ever human to reach outer space in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.
Fearing that they might lose the space race and eventually the Cold War, American President John F. Kennedy declared on 25th May 1961, that the U.S. was committed to putting a man on the moon and returning him safely back to Earth before the end of the decade.
Kennedy’s dream was achieved with the Apollo 11 mission, which was launched on 16th July 1969, and landed on the Moon’s surface on 20th July 1969. The Apollo 11 mission was carried out by three personnel: Commander Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin ‘Buzz’ E. Aldrin. On 21st July 1969, at 02:56 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon’s surface.
This mission became a pivotal moment in human history as it unlocked endless possibilities for space exploration.
India’s tryst with space and research
When India gained independence on 15th August 1947, it was steeped in poverty. During that period, the country’s leaders had to deal with numerous problems such as poverty, lack of infrastructural development, high illiteracy rates, and conflicts.
One would assume that space exploration and scientific research would have been India’s last priority. But that was not the case. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, a visionary that he was, wanted India to make its mark in science and technology.
In 1950, Nehru established the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and appointed noted physicist Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the department’s secretary.
But in truth, the history of Indian scientific research into space dates even further back. In the 1920s, scientist S.K. Mitra laid the foundation for modern space research in India by conducting experiments on the ionosphere, which is the part of Earth’s upper atmosphere, through ground-based radio in Kolkata.
Following this, prominent Indian scientists such as C.V. Raman and Meghnad Saha contributed to the scientific principles applicable in the space sciences. Post-1945, significant strides were made in coordinated space research in India, led by the father of the Indian space program, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. He established the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in 1947 to do further research in space science.
Rise of research institutes across India
After the establishment of the DAE, it started funding the Indian space program. The department began running tests in the fields of meteorology and the Earth’s magnetic field.
Research in these fields in India can be traced back to 1826, with the founding in Bombay of the Colaba Observatory, one of the first of its kind in Asia. Initially situated on the then island of Colaba, which later became the southernmost tip of Bombay city, it later moved to Alibaug, southeast of Bombay on the Indian mainland.
Until 1971, it functioned under the Indian Meteorological Department. It was later transformed into an autonomous entity known as the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, with Bhupendra Naik Bhargava appointed as its inaugural director.
In 1954, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) took root in Beluwakhan, in present-day Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan foothills. Following this, the Rangpur Observatory was established in 1957 at Osmania University in Hyderabad.
During this period, the Indian government also started focusing on space research.
The birth of ISRO
To make significant progress in space research, in 1962, Nehru established the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) based on the recommendation of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
At the outset, there was no specific ministry dedicated to the space program. Instead, all space-related activities came under the purview of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
H.G. Srinivasa Murthy, the first director at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, Kerala, inaugurated the upper atmospheric research in India through the launch of sounding rockets.
On 21st November 1963, India launched its maiden rocket, named the Nike-Apache-sounding rocket, into space. ISRO scientists carried this rocket on the carrier seat of a bicycle.
A sounding rocket, also known as a rocketsonde, research rocket, or suborbital rocket, serves as an instrument-carrying platform designed for conducting measurements and scientific experiments during sub-orbital flights. These rockets are employed to launch instruments, reaching altitudes ranging from 48 to 145 km (30 to 90 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
Following this, a homegrown series of sounding rockets named Rohini was developed and its launch phase was initiated in 1967. Before that, INCOSPAR mainly used the Arcas rocket imported from the U.S.
The propellant for the Rohini rockets was developed by a scientist named Waman Patwardhan.
On 15th August 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi converted INCOSPAR to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The transition continued up to 1972, when the Department of Space (DoS) was formed, leading to the transfer of ISRO’s oversight from the DAE to the DoS.
Later, India joined the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos space program, and on 19th April 1975, India's first satellite, 'Aryabhatta', was successfully launched on a Soviet rocket.
Introducing PSLVs and GSLVs
In the 1970s, ISRO initiated efforts to develop an orbital launch vehicle following the mastery of sounding rocket technology. It took ISRO seven long years to make its own satellite launch vehicle (SLV) capable of carrying a 40-kg payload to an Earth lower orbit.
In 1979, India launched the Bhaskara satellite, which became the second Indian satellite to be launched into an Earth lower orbit, but again, it was launched through a Soviet rocket.
Finally, in July 1980, India’s indigenous SLV successfully launched the Rohini satellite into Earth’s lower orbit, solidifying India’s position as the seventh country to achieve this milestone. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the project director of this mission, later ascended to the presidency in 2002, earning the nickname 'Missile Man of India'.
ISRO simultaneously started working on the development of medium-lift launch vehicles in 1978. The agency’s efforts came to fruition as they led to the creation of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). A PSLV is a type of medium-sized rocket that helps to launch satellites into space.
The SLV had some additional launches before its discontinuation in 1983.
In 1982, the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) was established for telecommunications, broadcasting, and meteorological services, revolutionizing communication infrastructure across the nation.
ISRO launched India’s first remote sensing satellite, Bhaskara-II, in 1984, opening doors for Earth observation applications in agriculture, disaster management, and resource mapping.
The establishment of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in 1985 was crucial for developing the more powerful Vikas engine. ISRO also started working on the augmented satellite launch vehicle (ASLV) and technologies for geostationary orbits. Unfortunately, ISRO did not have enough funds to carry both PSLV and ASLV programs at the same time; the ASLV program was terminated after some initial test flights.
In the 1990s, the PSLV emerged as a cornerstone for ISRO’s missions. During that time, ISRO conducted over 50 flights successfully with the help of PSLV.
PSLV also played a pivotal role in India’s space endeavors by transporting small payloads to the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) and deploying numerous foreign satellites. This success not only bolstered India’s space capabilities but also established it as a reliable player in the global satellite launch market.
Next, ISRO started working on the development of a new rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). India’s attempt to acquire upper-stage cryogenic engines from Russia’s Glavkosmos faced opposition from the United States. Consequently, India started importing KVD-1 engines from Russia under a new agreement, though with limited success.
In 1994, recognizing the need for self-reliance, ISRO initiated a project to develop indigenous cryogenic technology, a journey that spanned two decades before reaching fruition.
During a challenging period from 6th May 1992, to 6th May 1994, ISRO found itself under U.S. government sanctions. This setback, however, fueled India’s determination to establish autonomy in space technology. The denial of assistance from the United States for Global Positioning System (GPS) technology during the Kargil War in 1999 prompted ISRO to embark on creating its own satellite navigation system, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), which has since evolved and expanded.
Did you know that, until 2002, ISRO did not have an official logo? The official logo of ISRO, adopted in 2002, showcases an upward-pointing orange arrow intricately linked to two vibrant blue satellite panels. On the left, the name “ISRO” is presented in a striking orange Devanagari script, while on the right, it appears in a complementary blue English text, styled in the distinctive Prakrit typeface.
ISRO is breaking the space barrier
In 2003 China succeeded in sending humans into space. In response, India’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, urged ISRO to start developing technologies to send humans to the Moon. ISRO has since started various programs targeting lunar exploration, planetary exploration, and crewed missions. Hence, started a journey that saw both success and failure.
The journey of ISRO is far from over. With ambitious plans for the future and a rich history on its back, ISRO continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. We can all be a part of this incredible journey by supporting ISRO’s endeavors and fostering a passion for science and exploration in future generations.
In the 21st century, ISRO undertook many missions to explore the Moon, the Mars and until very recently it conducted a mission to study the Sun. ISRO is also working on a mission to send humans into space.
What are these missions? Although these missions are very popular among the Indian people, they deserve a separate in-depth article. In the next series of this article, we shall explore the missions ISRO conducted to mark its dominance in the global space race.
Until then, let’s reach for the stars together!
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