India’s Space Odyssey—from rocket on bullock cart to Mars

*K V Venkatasubramanian

The successful delivery of India’s heaviest high-tech Geostationary Communication Satellite,

GSAT 19, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, early June, by the most powerful indigenous
rocket GSLV Mark III has propelled the country into the league of big achievers in space
technology. It has also paved the way for the first manned mission.

The June 5 launch came after the GSLV Mark III’s first experimental flight on December 18,
2014, which carried a prototype crew capsule. The suborbital mission helped scientists
understand the vehicle’s performance in the atmosphere and test the capsule.

For the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), this was the third feather on its cap--an
astounding and memorable feat--this year. It fulfilled the country’s long quest to develop its
own economical but effective cryogenic engine and inject heavy geostationary satellites up to
4,000 kg into orbit at 36,000 km in space.

Earlier, on May 5, India presented a “priceless gift” to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the
Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka by launching the first-ever South Asia Satellite (SAS) to boost
communication and improve disaster links among its six neighbours. The 2,230-kg
communication spacecraft “opened up new horizons of engagement” in the region and helped
India carve a unique place for itself in space diplomacy.
Built by ISRO and funded entirely by India, the Geostationary Communication Satellite-9
(GSAT-9) was hauled on board the GSLV-F09 rocket. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the
"unprecedented" development sent out a message that "even sky is not the limit when it comes
to regional cooperation".

In February, the space agency made world headlines by using a polar satellite launch vehicle
(PSLV C-37) to slingshot a record 104 satellites, including the Cartosat-2 series satellite, into
orbit. The master stroke established India as the launch service provider for small satellites.

These remarkable achievements have placed ISRO in a distinctive position in the space race.
The prime minister's soft corner for space and his liking for ISRO were reflected in this year’s
budget allocation for the Department of Space--a massive 23 per cent increase.

Over the years, India’s determined space programme has evolved with a focus on national
imperatives, and social and economic well-being of the people. India uses its satellites for
specific developmental objectives--civilian (earth observation, remote sensing,
communication, meteorology) and defence purposes. These encompass environmental
degradation, soil erosion, monitoring fishery resources, flood and drought monitoring, mining,
surveying mineralogical resources and ascertaining land coverage for wildlife parks. Space-
based applications like tele-education and tele-medicine have enabled greater access to rural
population to these basic needs.

During the past three years, India has accelerated its space exploration missions. Among the
nearly a dozen achievements in 2016 were the successful lobbing of the remote sensing
satellite RESOURCESAT-2 in December and a record launch of 20 satellites in a single
payload in June and three navigation satellites and the GSAT-18 communication satellite.
In 2015, ISRO hoisted the GSAT-15 communication satellite in November and the Multi
Wavelength Space Observator ASTROSAT in September. It also ground tested, for 800
seconds, the indigenously developed high thrust cryogenic rocket engine. Besides, five
satellites were launched in July by PSLV and the IRNSS-1D, the fourth satellite in the Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in March.

In 2014, the communication satellite GSAT-16 was propitiously launched in December and
precisely placed into orbit. The country’s third navigation satellite IRNSS-1C was hoisted by
PSLV in October and the second dedicated navigation satellite IRNSS-1B in April.
In the years ahead, ISRO scientists have a hectic schedule as a series of satellite launches are
in the works. The next major project is India’s second exploration mission to the moon,
Chandrayaan 2—an indigenous initiative comprising an orbiter, lander and rover, which are
expected to perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface. It is slated for
lift-off in the first quarter of 2018, ten years after the success of Chandrayaan 1.

ISRO’s next grand project is the scientific mission to the Sun for observing the solar corona
(with a Coronagraph--a telescope), photosphere, chromosphere (Sun’ three main outer layers)
and solar wind. To be launched by 2020 by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL)
from Sriharikota, the Aditya-L1 satellite will study the Sun from an orbit around the Sun-earth
Lagrangian point (L-1), which is about 1.5 million km from earth.

The Aditya-L1 mission will probe why solar flares and solar winds disturb the communication
network and electronics on earth. ISRO plans to use the data from the satellite to better protect
its satellites from being damaged by hot winds and flares ejected out of the corona.

Very soon, India will gallantly call on Venus for the first time and return to the Red Planet
with a second Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), probably during 2021-2022. It is planned to put
a robot on Mars’ surface. India's first interplanetary mission, Mangalyaan, in November 2013,
has been orbiting Mars since its arrival at the Red Planet's orbit on September 24, 2014. It is a
technology transfer project for designing, planning, management, and operations. It enhanced
India’s reputation as a reliable low-cost option for space exploration.

India’s space odyssey has traversed 53 summers. The nation had successfully put its first
signature on space on November 21, 1963, by launching the US-made ‘Nike-Apache’ two-
stage sounding rocket (the first rocket) from Kerala’s obscure fishing hamlet Thumba.

As there were no buildings at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), on
Thiruvananthapuram’s outskirts, the bishop's house doubled up as the Director’s office, the
ancient St. Mary Magdalene church building became the control room and naked eyes tracked
the smoke plume. Even rocket parts and payloads were transported by bullock carts and
bicycles to the launch pad.

Nearly 12 years later, India entered the space age with its first-ever experimental satellite,
Aryabhata, which was catapulted on a Russian rocket in 1975. "During those days,
infrastructure was not available. We utilised whatever was available. In Bangalore, we even
converted a toilet into a data receiving centre for our first satellite Aryabhata," former ISRO
chairperson Dr U. R. Rao had recalled in an interview.

From taking its first baby steps in Thumba, India’s epic space trek has crossed several mega
frontiers. From relying on Russia for its first satellite launch, it has emerged as a key player in
global satellite launches and manufacturing industry. The nation has earned worldwide
recognition for launching lunar probes, built satellites, for others also, ferried foreign satellites
up and has even succeeded in reaching Mars.

Indian space odyssey has come a long way to ferrying

foreign satellites, launching moon and Mars orbiters, and
now planning to land on the Moon. Here's a look at the
timeline of ISRO's journey.
From the days of having a church as control room, the bishop's house as office and a bicycle
as ferry and naked eyes to track the smoke plume at Thumba in Kerala and converting a toilet
into a satellite data receiving centre in Bengaluru, Indian space odyssey have come a long
way to ferrying foreign satellites, launching moon and Mars orbiters, and now planning to
land on the Moon.

From Bullock cart to Moon. Apple satellite in 1981.

The journey which started humble & now after achievements like PSLV, GSLV, Cryo
engines, MOM, Moon & now a moon lander.

Kudos & Wishes to all the scientists & researchers for making things happen & making
#India proud. pic.twitter.com/DHCALxiOHZ

Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 22, 2019

Here's a timeline of the epic journey:

1960s-1990s: The period of trials and turbulations

1962: Indian National Committee for Space Research set up by Department of Atomic
Energy and work on establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS)
started in Kerala.

1963: First sounding rocket launched from TERLS November 21, 1963.

1965: Space Science and Technology Centre established in Thumba, Kerala.

1968: Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

1969: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed under the Department of Atomic
Energy (August 15, 1969).

1971: Satish Dhawan Space Centre (formerly SHAR Centre) was formed in Sriharikota,
Andhra Pradesh.
1972: Department of Space (DOS) established and ISRO brought under DOS. ISRO Satellite
Centre established at Bangalore. Space Applications Centre established at Ahmedabad.

1975: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (1975-76) using a US satellite.

1976: First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched on April 19, 1975.

1977: Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (1977-79) using Franco-German

Symphonie Satellite.

1979: Bhaskara-1, an earth observation experimental satellite, launched. First experimental

launch of Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) carrying Rohini satellite. Satellite was not placed
in the orbit.

1980: Second experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini satellite. Mission successful.

1981: First developmental launch of SLV-3. Rohini satellite placed in orbit. Launch of
APPLE, an experimental geostationary communication satellite. Launch of Bhaskara-2 by a
USSR rocket.

1982: Launch of Insat-1A communication satellite by a US rocket.

1983: Second developmental flight of SLV-3 placed Rohini satellite in orbit. Insat system
commissioned with the launch to Insat-1B satellite.

1984: First Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma was in Russian space station Salyut-7 for eight
days. He flew in a Russian rocket Soyuz T-11.

1987: First development launch of Augmented SLV (ASLV) with satellite SROSS-1.
Mission failed.

1988: Launch of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite IRA-1A through Russsian rocket.
Second developmental flight of ASLV with SROSS satellite. Mission failed.

1990s onwards: The era of PSLVs and foreign exchange earnings

The 1990s saw PSLV rocket hitting success repeatedly and becoming the workhorse of
ISRO. The rocket also earned foreign exchange by launching foreign satellites.

1991: Launch of second operational remote sensing satellite IRS-1B.

1992: First successful launch of ASLV placing SROSS-C satellite. Launch of Insat-2A, the
first satellite of the indigenously built second generation Insat series followed by 3 and 4
series.

1993: First developmental flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with IRS-1E.
Mission failed.

1994: Fourth developmental flight of ASLV with SROSS-C2. Mission successful. Successful
launch of PSLV placing IRS-P2 in orbit.
1996: Third developmental flight of PSLV with IRS-P3.

1997: First operational launch of PSLV carrying IRS-1D.

1999: PSLV started carrying foreign payloads (Korean and German satellites) along with
ISRO's satellite Oceansat.

2000 onwards: Getting ready the heavy rocket and going for interplanetary missions

2001: Successful launch of heavy rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
with GSAT-1 satellite. Launch of PSLV with India's Technology Experimental Satellite and
satellites from Belgium and Germany.

2002: Launch of Kalpana-1 satellite onboard PSLV rocket.

2003: Launch of GSat-2 onboard GSLV and Resourcesat-1 by PSLV.

2004: Launch of Edusat by GSLV's first operational flight.

2005: Commissioning of second launch pad at Sriharikota. Launch of Cartosat-1, Hamsat by

PSLV.

2006: Second operational flight of GSLV with Insat-4C. First time an Indian rocket carried a
communication satellite. Mission failed.

2007: Launch of Cartosat-2 with Space Capsule Recovery Experiment and two foreign
satellites and successful recovery of the space capsule. Launch of Italian satellite AGILE by
PSLV and Insat-4CR by GSLV.

2008: Launch of Israeli satellite Tecsar by PSLV. Launch of 10 satellites by a single PSLV --
2 Indian and 8 foreign. Launch of India's first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 by PSLV.
Sanction for Chandrayaan-2 given by the government.

2009: Launch of Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-2) and Anusat from Anna University (first
satellite from an Indian University) by PSLV. Launch of seven satellites by PSLV, including
India's Oceansat.

2010: Failure of two GSLV missions. Launch of Cartosat-2B, STUDSAT and three small
foreign satellites by PSLV.

2011: Launch of Resourcest-2 and two small satellites by PSLV. Launch of GSAT-12 by
PSLV. Launch of Megha Tropiques and three small satellites by PSLV.

2012: Launch of Risat-1 and SPOT by PSLV

2013: Launch of Saral satellite, IRNSS-1A (navigation satellite) and Mars Orbiter by PSLV.

2014: Launch of GSAT-14 by GSLV rocket, IRNSS-1B and IRNSS-IC, SPOT 7 and GSLV-
Mk III testing Crew Module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE).
2015: Launch of IRNSS-1D, DMC3 satellites from UK, GSAT-6, Astrosat, GSAT-15 by
Ariane rocket, TeLEOS, Singapore.

2016: Launch of IRNSS-1E, IRNSS-1F, IRNSS-1G, Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology

Demonstrator, Cartosat-2 series, Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator, INSAT-3DR by
GSLV, SCATSAT-1, Resourcesat-2A and GSAT-18 by Ariane rocket.

2017: Launch of Cartosat-2 Series, GSAT-9 by GSLV, GSAT-19 by GSLV-Mk III, Cartosat,
GSAT-17 by Ariane and IRNSS-1H (failed as heat shield did not open).

2018: Launch of Cartosat, GSAT-6A by GSLV, IRNSS-1L, Flight Testing of Crew Escape
System for human space mission, NovaSAR, UK, GSAT-29 by GSLV-Mk III, HysIS,
GSAT-11 by Ariane and GSAT-7A by GSLV. ISRO decides to transfer Lithium-ion battery
technology.

2019: Launch of Microsat-R, GSAT-31 by Ariane, EMISAT and RISAT-2B and second
moon mission Chandrayaan-2.