Wikipedia:Videowiki/Indian Space Research Organisation

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Introduction

The Indian Space Research Organisation is a space agency of Government of India, which was earlier called as Indian National Committee for Space Research was established in the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru under Department of Atomic Research in 1962. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research & planetary exploration".

Formative years

Organised space research in India was spearheaded by two scientists: Vikram Sarabhai—founder of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad—and Homi Bhabha, who established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945.

Initial stage

Initial experiments in space sciences included the study of cosmic radiation, high altitude and airborne testing, deep underground experimentation and upper atmosphere. Studies were carried out at research laboratories, universities, and independent locations.

Development stage

In 1950, the Department of Atomic Energy was founded which provided funding throughout India on space research. During this time, tests continued on aspects of meteorology and the Earth's magnetic field. Two observatories were established, one at foothills of Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh in 1954 and the other at Osmania University, Hyderabad in 1957.

Final stage

In 1962 with the efforts of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was estabished.

Organisation structure and facilities

Department of Space (DoS) which manages the ISRO, falls under the authority of the Space Commission and manages many government agencies and institutes. Few of them that fall under ISRO are,

VSSC

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation, focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the largest ISRO base and also the main technical centre and a venue for the development of the SLV-3, ASLV, and PSLV series.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre

The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is a research and development centre functioning under Indian Space Research Organisation. It has two units located at Valiamala, in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala, and Bengaluru of Karnataka. It handles design, development, testing and implementation of liquid propulsion control packages, liquid stages and liquid engines for launch vehicles and satellites

Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) named after ISRO's former chairman Satish Dhawan, is a rocket launch centre operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is located in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It is also home to India's largest Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant (SPROB) and houses the Static Test and Evaluation Complex (STEX).

U R Rao Satellite Centre

The U R Rao Satellite Centre, located in Bengaluru of Karnataka, is an Indian Space Research Organisation centre for the design, development, and construction of Indian satellites. It serves as a venue for implementing indigenous spacecraft in India. Previously it was know ISRO Satellite Centre.

Launch vehicle fleet

India initiated its own launch vehicle programme owing to geopolitical and economic considerations during the 1960s and 1970s and developed a sounding rocket programme. During the 1980s, the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) were developed with operational supporting infrastructure. Later ISRO has created two more launch vehicles namely Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Satellite Launch Vehicle

Satellite Launch Vehicle was a 4-stage solid-propellant light launcher, was intended to reach a height of 500 kilometres and carry a payload of 40 kilograms. Its first launch took place in 1979 with two more in each subsequent year and the final launch in 1983.

Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle

Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle was a five-stage solid propellant rocket with the capability of placing a 150-kilogram satellite into low Earth orbit. This was started during the early 1980s to develop technologies needed for a payload to be placed into a geostationary orbit.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system developed by ISRO to launch Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into Sun synchronous orbits. PSLV can also launch small satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The maximum number of satellites launched by the PSLV in a single launch is 104, in the PSLV-C37, which was launched on 15 February 2017.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is the second-heaviest launch vehicle developed by ISRO which is an expendable launch system to launch INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit. It is capable of putting a total payload of up to 5 tons to low Earth orbit. The vehicle is built by India, originally with a cryogenic engine purchased from Russia, while the ISRO developed its own cryogenic engine.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 is a launch vehicle capable to launch four-tonne satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). It is a three-stage vehicle with a 110-tonne (120-ton) core liquid propellant stage (L-110) flanked by two 200-tonne (220-ton) solid propellant strap-on booster motors (S-200) with upper stage having cryogenic with a propellant loading of 25 tonnes. The vehicle has a lift-off mass of about 640 tonnes and is 43.43 metres tall and a payload fairing having diameter of 5 metres and payload volume of 100 cubic metres.

Satellite programmes

The first Indian first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle. This was followed by the Rohini series of experimental satellites, which were built and launched indigenously. At present, ISRO operates a large number of Earth observation satellites and few of them are as follows.

The INSAT series

Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) was commissioned in 1983 and serves as the largest communication system in Asia-Pacific Region. It is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites built and launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology and search-and-rescue needs of India. It is a joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan .

The IRS series

Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS) are a series of Earth observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by ISRO. This series provides remote sensing services to the country and is the largest collection of remote sensing satellites for civilian use in operation today in the world. All the satellites are placed in polar Sun-synchronous orbit and provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions to enable several programmes to be undertaken relevant to national development.

South Asia Satellite

The South Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) is a geosynchronous communications satellite by ISRO for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. It is a satellite for the SAARC region which was launched on 5 May 2017 with 12 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz each) and supports a wide range of applications and services in the areas of telecommunication and broadcasting applications.

IRNSS satellite navigation system (NAVIC)

IRNSS, also known as NAVIC is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its borders, with a position accuracy up to 20 m, which is its primary service area. It provides two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS)

Extraterrestrial exploration

Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan 1 was India's first mission to the Moon and was launched by ISRO using a modified version of PSLV on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Center. The robotic lunar exploration mission included an impactor called the Moon Impact Probe and a lunar orbiter. During its 312 days operational period, it surveyed the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography. The spacecraft carried 11 instruments. Chandrayaan-1 became the first lunar mission to discover the existence of water on the Moon.