Cycle to Chandrayan: India’s arduous journey of 62 years

Landing on Moon’s South Pole, a remarkable feat was achieved by Chandrayaan-3, launched in 2023. The country has set an ambitious target for 2035 that is, establishing its own space station, Bharatiya Antariksh.

India has launched 432 foreign space satellites and 125 spacecraft missions, so far. In these 62 years, the country has seen missions fail and dreams shatter.

Let us look at the chronology of this development:-

Indian National Committee for Space Research	1962
Indian Space Research Organization	1969
Department of Space, under ISRO	1972
Bhaskara, India’s first remote sensing satellite	1979
APPLE, India’s first communication satellite	1981
INSAT-1A, India’s first telecom satellite	1982
Antrix Corportion	1992
GSAT-1, first GSLV satellite	2001

From Sarabhai to Somnath

Vikram Sarabhai is an unforgettable name for engineers, scientists and India as a whole. From convincing the government to launch Sputnik and playing crucial role in establishment of ISRO, Physics Research Lab in Ahmedabad, setting up of Thumba Equatorial launching station in Thiruvananthapuram , Sarabhai’s contribution to the Space is second to none.

The Missile Man of India, Abul Pakir Zain-ul-abdin Abdul Kalam Azad, was the director of ISRO and oversaw the successful launch of Rohini. He led Defense Research and Development Organization and launched indigenously made missiles, Agni and Prithvi, forming the base of India’s current space sector’s growth.

Ex ISRO Chief, Kailasavadivoo Sivan undertook pioneering works on cryogenic engines. He is the chief architect of 6D trajectory simulation software, SITARA, which is the backbone of the real-time and non-real-time trajectory simulations of all ISRO launch vehicles.

S Somnath, the current ISRO Chief, under whom ISRO touched new heights with launch of Aditya L1, a solar science mission, Gaganyaan, a human spaceflight mission and XpoSat, which will study solar radiations from celestial objects. He has devised a strategy for next 25 years and the feats to be achieved.

Recent push

Privatization, increasing Foreign Direct Investment in space, and emerging trends like many investments in space and startups in the sector have started engaging for commercial gains.

India of the mid-21^st century will see investment, patents, inventions and India taking a share in the space hegemony. Contributions of prodigies, Government support and a willing innovative youth will take space developments to a new height.

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