Milestones In India’s Space Programme | Science & Technology for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Introduction

This document highlights the significant milestones in India's space programme, providing a chronological overview of key events and achievements.

Milestones in India’s Space Programme

• 1962: The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established by the Department of Atomic Energy, and work on establishing the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) began.
• 1963: The first sounding rocket was launched from TERLS on November 21, 1963.
• 1965: The Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) was established in Thumba.
• 1967: A Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station was set up in Ahmedabad.
• 1968: TERLS was dedicated to the United Nations on February 2, 1968.
• 1969: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed under the Department of Atomic Energy on August 15, 1969.
• 1972: The Space Commission and Department of Space were set up on June 1, 1972, and ISRO was brought under the Department of Space (DOS).
• 1972-1976: Airborne remote sensing experiments were conducted.
• 1975: ISRO became a government organization on April 1, 1975, and the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was launched on April 19, 1975.
• 1975-1976: The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted.
• 1977: The Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP) was carried out.
• 1979: Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth observations, was launched on June 7, 1979, and the first experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board took place on August 10, 1979, although the satellite couldn't be placed in orbit.
• 1980: The second experimental launch of SLV-3 was successful, and the Rohini satellite was placed in orbit on July 18, 1980.
• 1981: The first developmental launch of SLV-3 placed RS-D1 in orbit on May 31, 1981. APPLE, an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite, was successfully launched on June 19, 1981, and Bhaskara-II was launched on November 20, 1981.
• 1982: INSAT-1A was launched on April 10, 1982, but was deactivated on September 6, 1982.
• 1983: INSAT-1B was launched on August 30, 1983, and the second developmental launch of SLV-3 placed RS-D2 in orbit on April 17, 1983.
• 1984: An Indo-Soviet manned space mission took place in April 1984.
• 1987: The first developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board was conducted on March 24, 1987, but the satellite couldn't be placed in orbit.
• 1988: The launch of the first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A, occurred on March 17, 1988. The second developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2 on board took place on July 13, 1988, but the satellite couldn't be placed in orbit. INSAT-1C was launched on July 21, 1988, but it was abandoned in November 1989.
• 1990: INSAT-1D, an Indian satellite, was launched on June 12, 1990.
• 1991: The second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B, was launched on August 29, 1991.
• 1992: The third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C on board occurred on May 20, 1992, and the satellite was successfully placed in orbit. Later that year, INSAT-2A, the first satellite in the second-generation INSAT series, was launched on July 10, 1992.
• 1993: INSAT-2B, the second satellite in the INSAT-2 series, was launched on July 23, 1993. Unfortunately, the developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-1E on board on September 20, 1993, was unsuccessful and the satellite could not be placed in orbit.
• 1994: The fourth developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C2 on board was successful, with the satellite placed in orbit on May 4, 1994. The second developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P2 on board on October 15, 1994, was also successful.
• 1995: INSAT-2C, the third in the INSAT-2 series, was launched on December 7, 1995, followed by the launch of the third operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1C, on December 28, 1995.
• 1996: The third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 on board was successful, with the satellite placed in polar sun-synchronous orbit on March 21, 1996.
• 1997: The first operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D on board on September 29, 1997, was successful. The fourth satellite in the INSAT series, INSAT-2D, was launched on June 4, 1997, but it became inoperable on October 4, 1997. In November 1997, an in-orbit satellite, ARABSAT-1C (now INSAT-2DT), was acquired to partially enhance the INSAT system.
• 1998: The capacity of the INSAT system was increased with the readiness of INSAT-2DT in January 1998.
• 1999: INSAT-2E, the final satellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series, was launched on April 3, 1999. Later, the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), was launched on May 26, 1999.
• 2000: INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the third-generation INSAT-3 series, was launched on March 22, 2000.
• 2001: The first developmental launch of GSLV-D1 with GSAT-1 onboard took place on April 18, 2001. Later that year, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C3, successfully launched three satellites: Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany, and PROBA of Belgium on October 22, 2001.
• 2002: INSAT-3C was successfully launched on January 24, 2002. Later that year, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4, successfully launched the KALPANA-1 satellite on September 12, 2002.
• 2003: INSAT-3A was successfully launched on April 10, 2003. The second developmental launch of GSLV-D2 with GSAT-2 onboard took place on May 8, 2003. Later that year, INSAT-3E was successfully launched on September 28, 2003. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C5, successfully launched the RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) satellite on October 17, 2003.
• 2004: The first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) successfully launched EDUSAT from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota on September 20, 2004.
• 2005: ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, successfully launched CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites on May 5, 2005. Later that year, INSAT-4A was successfully launched on December 22, 2005.
• 2006: The second operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F02) with INSAT-4C on board took place on July 10, 2006, but the satellite could not be placed in orbit.
• 2007: ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C7, successfully launched four satellites – CARTOSAT-2, SRE-1, LAPAN-TUBSAT, and PEHUENSAT-1 – on January 10, 2007. The SRE-1 was successfully recovered after reentry into the earth’s atmosphere on January 22, 2007. Later that year, INSAT-4B was successfully launched on March 12, 2007, followed by the successful launch of the Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, on April 23, 2007. The launch of GSLV (GSLV-F04) with INSAT-4CR on board from SDSC SHAR was successful on September 2, 2007.
• 2008: PSLV-C10 successfully launched the TECSAR satellite under a commercial contract with Antrix Corporation on January 21, 2008. Later that year, PSLV-C9 successfully launched CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1, and 8 foreign nano satellites on April 28, 2008. PSLV-C11 successfully launched CHANDRAYAAN-1 on October 22, 2008.

Conclusion

The timeline of India's space programme illustrates its remarkable growth and achievements, from its early beginnings in the 1960s to its notable satellite launches and missions in the 21st century. These milestones reflect India's dedication to space exploration and technological advancement.