From Aryabhatta to Mars mission: India’s successful space odyssey

From Aryabhatta to Mars mission: India’s successful space odyssey. India today has end-to-end capabilities in space after a long journey full of adventures.
Entering the space with Aryabhatta, its first satellite launched in 1975 by the erstwhile Soviet Union, India today enjoys a unique status in space technology with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the primary space agency of the government rated among the six largest government space agencies in the world, along with American NASA, Russia’s RKA, Europe’s ESA, China’s CNSA and Japan’s JAXA.
The space program in the country had humble beginnings as it began with a church located in the fishing village of Thumba on the coast of the Arabian Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Today, India is an emerging player in the global satellite launch and manufacturing industry and the market leader in vending images sent by its remote sensing/earth observation satellites.
ISRO, which is headquartered in Bangalore and managed by the administrative control of the Department of Space (DoS), has successfully launched the first of seven satellites that will provide the country with an independent navigation satellite capability.
The space agency also plans to put the full constellation of satellites into orbit by the financial year 2014-2015.
A navigation satellite system uses a cluster of spacecraft that regularly transmit signals.
Suitably equipped receivers can then use that data to work out their exact position. Satellite-based navigation has over the years become indispensable, with a multitude of both civilian and military uses.
Vehicles, big and small, as well as aircraft and ships increasingly find their way using such navigation devices.
People these days turn to map and location-based services on their mobile devices.
Moreover, India’s modernization of its armed forces will be benefited manifold as a satellite system of its own will give the country redundancy and reduced dependence on outside agencies for the key technology.
The satellite navigation also has huge civilian applications with India developing both economically and technologically. The country uses its satellites for civilian (earth observation/remote sensing, communication, meteorology) and defense purposes.
The applications of global navigation satellite systems are potentially enormous.
According to space research experts and industry view, a massive market is waiting to take shape and what we see of its present use can be considered a tip of the iceberg.
India’s weather monitoring satellites have helped save thousands of lives when a series of cyclones or hurricanes struck India’s coast by giving timely and accurate advance information.
The best known and currently the most widely used navigation satellite system is the US Global Positioning System (GPS), which became operational two decades ago.
Russia too offers global coverage with its Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). Europe is establishing its own global system, Galileo.
Although the full constellation will be ready only by 2019, it plans to begin some services with a reduced number of satellites by the end of next year.
China also announced operational services from its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System over that country and surrounding areas.
Japan has already launched the first of three satellites for its regional system that will augment GPS services.
India’s space mission began in the early 1960s when India’s space odyssey took its baby step. ISRO, which built Aryabhatta, has superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) with the primary objective to advance space technology in the country and use its applications for the national benefit.
Established in 1969, the space research organization has achieved numerous milestones since its inception.
Rohini, the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3, was launched in 1980.
ISRO subsequently developed two other rockets — the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for putting satellites into polar orbits and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits.
These rockets have launched numerous communications satellites, earth observation satellites and, in 2008, Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon.
India’s maiden mission to Mars successfully lifted off from Sriharikota on Nov. 5, 2013 with its polar rocket placing the Mars spacecraft precisely into an intended earth orbit in its first-ever historic inter-planetary odyssey in a bid to join a select band of nations.
Till date only Japan, China, Russia, the United States and the European Space Agency have even attempted space travel to Mars, of these only the latter three have succeeded.
Furthermore, ISRO has conducted a variety of operations for both Indian and foreign clients and its satellite launch capability is mostly provided by indigenous launch vehicles and launch sites.
Recently, PSLV placed in orbit seven satellites, including the Indo-French satellite SARAL, whereas in April 2008, it put into orbit 10 satellites at a go — the highest ever.
Last year, India touched a major milestone — the 100th space mission with the launch of two foreign satellites.
India has successfully launched 35 foreign satellites for a fee since 1999.
The country has also been successful in launching medium-weight satellites for overseas agencies.
ISRO’s future plans include indigenous development of GSLV, manned space missions, further lunar exploration, Mars exploration and interplanetary probes.
It has several field installations as assets and cooperates with the international community as a part of several bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Thus the launch of a US-made Nike-Apache Sounding Rocket from Thumba in Kerala on Nov. 21, 1963, marked the beginning of not just an exploration into space but also a thriving industry.
A high point in the space journey has been the moon mission Chandrayaan-1, the Hindi term for moon vehicle — in 2008. Chandrayaan-2 is slated for 2014.
India’s many achievements in rocket and satellite launches rest on trials and tribulations that its space scientists underwent during the initial days.
With 10 satellites in orbit, India has the largest fleet of communication satellites in space among all countries in the Asia-Pacific region and virtually controls the largest fleet of civilian eyes in the skies.
Surprisingly, department of agriculture in the United States was estimating crop yields on American farms using data sourced from India’s ‘ResourceSat’ satellite till recent times.
ISRO now focuses on helping large sections of the Indian people get access to services supported through its nifty space technology and is considered a global leader in space based applications.
According to K. Radhakrishnan, chief of ISRO, India today is internationally viewed as a front-running space faring nation as the country builds and launches its own heavy duty rockets, designs and fabricates some of the most sophisticated satellites.
His observation says the Indian Mars mission is really a “technology demonstrator,” essentially showcasing to the world that India can undertake “interplanetary leaps.”
Vikram Sarabhai, a legendary Indian physicist, is considered as the father of the Indian space program.