Introduction to SPACE EXPLORATION

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical
exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. While the
observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, predates reliable recorded history, it was the
development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the early 20th century that allowed physical
space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing
scientific research, uniting different nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity and developing
military and strategic advantages against other countries. Various criticisms of space exploration are
sometimes made.

Space exploration has often been used as a proxy competition for geopolitical rivalries such as the Cold
War. The early era of space exploration was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet Union and the
United States; the launch of the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, the USSR's Sputnik 1, on
October 4, 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 craft on July 20, 1969 are often
taken as the boundaries for this initial period. The Soviet space program achieved many of the first
milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin
aboard Vostok 1) in 1961, the first spacewalk (by Aleksei Leonov) in 1965, the first automatic landing on
another celestial body in 1966, and the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in 1971.

After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as
the Space Shuttle program, and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station.

From the 1990s onwards, private interests began promoting space tourism and then private space
exploration of the Moon (see Google Lunar X Prize).

In the 2000s, the People's Republic of China initiated a successful manned spaceflight program, while the
European Union, Japan, and India have also planned future manned space missions. The United States
has committed to return to the Moon by 2018 and later Mars. [2][3][4] China, Russia, Japan, and India have
advocated manned missions to the Moon during the 21st century, while the European Union has
advocated manned missions to both the Moon and Mars during the 21st century.

History of exploration in the 20th Century

Most orbital flight actually takes place in upper layers of the atmosphere, especially in the thermosphere
In July 1950 the first bumper rocket is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.The Bumper was a two-
stage rocket. It topped a V-2 missile base with a WAC Corporal rocket. It could reach then-record
altitudes of almost 400 km. Launched by General Electric Company, this Bumper was used primarily for
testing rocket systems and for research on the upper atmosphere . Bumper rockets carried small payloads
that allowed them to measure attributes including air temperature and cosmic ray impacts.

The first steps of putting a man made object into space were taken by German scientists during World
War II while testing the V2 rocket which became the first human-made object in space on October 3,
1942 with the launching of V-4. After the war, the Allies used German scientists and their captured
rockets in programs for both military and civilian research. The first scientific exploration from space was
the cosmic radiation experiment launched by the U.S. on a V2 rocket on May 10, 1946. The first images
of Earth taken from space followed the same year while the first animal experiment saw fruit flies lifted
into space in 1947, both also on modified V2s launched by Americans. These suborbital experiments only
allowed a very short time in space which limited their usefulness.
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite orbited earth at 939 km (583 mi) to 215 km (134 mi) in 1957, and
was soon followed by Sputnik 2. See First satellite by country (Replica Pictured)

The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet unmanned Sputnik ("Satellite I") mission on October
4, 1957. The satellite weighed about 83 kg (184 pounds), and is believed to have orbited Earth at a height
of about 250 km (150 miles). It had two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), which emitted "beeps" that
could be heard by radios around the globe. Analysis of the radio signals was used to gather information
about the electron density of the ionosphere, while temperature and pressure data was encoded in the
duration of radio beeps. The results indicated that the satellite was not punctured by a meteoroid. Sputnik
1 was launched by an R-7 rocket. It burned up upon re-entry on January 3, 1958.

This success led to an escalation of the American space program, which unsuccessfully attempted to
launch Vanguard 1 into orbit two months later. On January 31, 1958, the U.S. successfully orbited
Explorer 1 on a Juno rocket. In the meantime, the Soviet dog Laika became the first animal in orbit on
November 3, 1957.

The first successful human spaceflight was Vostok 1 ("East 1"), carrying 27 year old Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lasting about 1
hour and 48 minutes. Gagarin's flight resonated around the world; it was a demonstration of the advanced
Soviet space program and it opened an entirely new era in space exploration: human spaceflight.

The U.S. first launched a person into space within a month of Vostok 1 with Alan Shepard's suborbital
flight in Mercury-Redstone 3. Orbital flight was achieved by the United States when John Glenn's
Mercury-Atlas 6 orbited the Earth on February 20, 1962.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, orbited the Earth 48 times aboard Vostok 6 on June 16,
1963.

China first launched a person into space 42 years after the launch of Vostok 1, on October 15, 2003, with
the flight of Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou 5 (Spaceboat 5) spacecraft.

The first artificial object to reach another celestial body was Luna 2 in 1959. The first automatic landing
on another celestial body was performed by Luna 9in 1966. Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of
another celestial body

The first manned landing on another celestial body was performed by Apollo 11 in its lunar landing on
July 20, 1969.

The first successful interplanetary flyby was the 1962 Mariner 2 flyby of Venus (closest approach 34,773
kilometers). Flybys for the other planets were first achieved in 1965 for Mars by Mariner 4, 1973 for
Jupiter by Pioneer 10, 1974 for Mercury by Mariner 10, 1979 for Saturn by Pioneer 11, 1986 for Uranus
by Voyager 2, and 1989 for Neptune by Voyager 2.

The first interplanetary surface mission to return at least limited surface data from another planet was the
1970 landing of Venera 7 on Venus which returned data to earth for 23 minutes. In 1971 the Mars 3
mission achieved the first soft landing on Mars returning data for almost 20 seconds. Later much longer
duration surface missions were achieved, including over 6 years of Mars surface operation by Viking 1
from 1975 to 1982 and over 2 hours of transmission from the surface of Venus by Venera 13 in 1982 (the
longest ever Soviet planetary surface mission).
The dream of stepping into the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere was driven by rocket technology.
The German V2 was the first rocket to travel into space, overcoming the problems of thrust and material
failure. During the final days of World War II this technology was obtained by both the Americans and
Soviets as were its designers. The initial driving force for further development of the technology was a
weapons race for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to be used as long-range carriers for fast
nuclear weapon delivery, but in 1961 when USSR launched the first man into space, the U.S. declared
itself to be in a "Space Race" with Russia.

 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert Goddard, Hermann Oberth, and Reinhold Tilling laid the
groundwork of rocketry in the early years of the 20th century.
 Wernher von Braun was the lead rocket engineer for Nazi Germany's World War II V-2 rocket
project. In the last days of the war he led a caravan of workers in the German rocket program to
the American lines, where they surrendered and were brought to the USA to work on U.S. rocket
development. He acquired American citizenship and led the team that developed and launched
Explorer 1, the first American satellite. Von Braun later led the team at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center which developed the Saturn V moon rocket.
 Initially the race for space was often led by Sergei Korolyov, whose legacy includes both the R7
and Soyuz—which remain in service to this day. Korolev was the mastermind behind the first
satellite, first man (and first woman) in orbit and first spacewalk. Until his death his identity was
a closely guarded state secret; not even his mother knew that he was responsible for creating the
Russian space program.
 Kerim Kerimov was one of the founders of the Soviet space program and was one of the lead
architects behind the first human spaceflight (Vostok 1) alongside Sergey Korolyov. After
Korolyov's death in 1966, Kerimov became the lead scientist of the Soviet space program and
was responsible for the launch of the first space stations from 1971 to 1991, including the Salyut
and Mir series, and their precursors in 1967, the Cosmos 186 and Cosmos 188.

Other key people included:

 Valentin Glushko held the role of Chief Engine Designer for USSR. Glushko designed many of
the engines used on the early Soviet rockets, but was constantly at odds with Korolyov.
 Vasily Mishin was Chief Designer working under Sergey Korolyov and one of first Soviets to
inspect the captured German V2 design. Following the death of Sergei Korolev, Mishin was held
responsible for the Soviet failure to be first country to place a man on the moon.
 Bob Gilruth was the NASA head of the Space Task Force and director of 25 manned space
flights. Gilruth was the person who suggested to John F. Kennedy that the Americans take the
bold step of reaching the Moon in an attempt to reclaim space superiority from the Soviets.
 Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. was NASA's first flight director, who oversaw development of Mission
Control and associated technologies and procedures.
 Maxime Faget was the designer of the Mercury capsule; he played a key role in designing the
Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, and contributed to the design of the Space Shuttle.

Future of space exploration

The European Space Agency's Columbus Module at the International Space Station, launched into space
on the U.S. Space Shuttle mission STS-122 in 2008

In the 2000s, several plans for space exploration have been announced; both government entities and the
private sector have space exploration objectives.

Targets of exploration
Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the interdisciplinary study of life in the universe, combining aspects of astronomy,
biology and geology. It is focused primarily on the study of the origin, distribution and evolution of life. It
is also known as exobiology (from Greek: έξω, exo, "outside"). The term "Xenobiology" has been used as
well, but this is technically incorrect because its terminology means "biology of the foreigners".
Astrobiologists must also consider the possibility of life that is chemically entirely distinct from any life
found on earth.

The Sun

While the Sun will probably not be physically explored in the close future, one of the reasons for going
into space includes knowing more about the Sun. Once above the atmosphere in particular and the Earth's
magnetic field, this gives access to the Solar wind and infrared and ultraviolet radiations that cannot reach
the surface of the Earth. The Sun generates most space weather, which can affect power generation and
transmission systems on Earth and interfere with, and even damage, satellites and space probes.

A MESSENGER image from 18,000 km showing a region about 500 km across

Mercury

Mercury remains the least explored of the inner planets. As of January 2008, the Mariner 10 and
MESSENGER missions have been the only missions that have made close observations of Mercury.
MESSENGER made a fly-by of Mercury on 14 January 2008, to further investigate the observations
made by Mariner 10 in 1975 (Munsell, 2006b). A third mission to Mercury, scheduled to arrive in 2020,
BepiColombo is to include two probes. BepiColombo is a joint mission between Japan and the European
Space Agency. MESSENGER and BepiColombo are intended to gather complementary data to help
scientists understand many of the mysteries discovered by Mariner 10's flybys.

Flights to other planets within the Solar System are accomplished at a cost in energy, which is described
by the net change in velocity of the spacecraft, or delta-v. Due to the relatively high delta-v to reach
Mercury and its proximity to the Sun, it is difficult to explore and orbits around it are rather unstable.

Venus

Venus was the first target of interplanetary flyby and lander missions and, despite one of the most hostile
surface environments in the solar system, has had more landers sent to it (nearly all from the Soviet
Union) than any other planet in the solar system. The first successful Venus flyby was the American
Mariner 2 spacecraft, which flew past Venus in 1962. Mariner 2 has been followed by several other
flybys by multiple space agencies often as part of missions using a Venus flyby to provide a gravitational
assist en route to other celestial bodies. In 1967 Venera 4 became the first probe to enter and directly
examine the atmosphere of Venus. In 1970 Venera 7 became the first successful lander to reach the
surface of Venus and by 1985 it had been followed by eight additional successful Soviet Venus landers
which provided images and other direct surface data. Starting in 1975 with the Soviet orbiter Venera 9
some ten successful orbiter missions have been sent to Venus, including later missions which were able to
map the surface of Venus using radar to pierce the obscuring atmosphere.

Earth

Space exploration has been used as a tool to understand the Earth as a celestial object in its own right.
Orbital missions can provide data for the Earth that can be difficult or impossible to obtain from a purely
ground-based point of reference.

For example, the existence of the Van Allen belts was unknown until their discovery by the United States'
first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. These belts contain radiation trapped by the Earth's magnetic fields,
which currently renders construction of habitable space stations above 1000 km impractical. Following
this early unexpected discovery, a large number of Earth observation satellites have been deployed
specifically to explore the Earth from a space based perspective. These satellites have significantly
contributed to the understanding of a variety of earth based phenomena. For instance, the hole in the
ozone layer was found by an artificial satellite that was exploring Earth's atmosphere, and satellites have
allowed for the discovery of archeological sites or geological formations that were difficult or impossible
to otherwise identify.

Earth's Moon

Earth's Moon was the first celestial body to be the object of space exploration. It holds the distinctions of
being the first remote celestial object to be flown by, orbited, and landed upon by spacecraft, and the only
remote celestial object ever to be visited by humans.

In 1959 the Soviets obtained the first images of the far side of the Moon, never previously visible to
humans. The U.S. exploration of the Moon began with the Ranger 4 impactor in 1962. Starting in 1966
the Soviets successfully deployed a number of landers to the Moon which were able to obtain data
directly from the Moon's surface; just four months later, Surveyor 1 marked the debut of a successful
series of U.S. landers. The Soviet unmanned missions culminated in the Lunokhod program in the early
'70s which included the first unmanned rovers and also successfully returned lunar soil samples to the
Earth for study. This marked the first (and to date the only) automated return of extraterrestrial soil
samples to the Earth. Unmanned exploration of the Moon continues with various nations periodically
deploying lunar orbiters, and in 2008 the Indian Moon Impact Probe.

Manned exploration of the Moon began in 1968 with the Apollo 8 mission that successfully orbited the
Moon, the first time any extraterrestrial object was orbited by humans. In 1969 the Apollo 11 mission
marked the first time humans set foot upon another world. Manned exploration of the Moon did not
continue for long, however. The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 marked the last time humans would visit the
Moon in any form and no human exploration mission is planned to reach the Moon any time in the near
future.

Mars
The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet
Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including
orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. These missions were
aimed at gathering data about current conditions and answering questions about the history of Mars. The
questions raised by the scientific community are expected to not only give a better appreciation of the red
planet but also yield further insight into the past, and possible future, of Earth.

The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable financial cost with roughly two-thirds of all
spacecraft destined for Mars failing before completing their missions, with some failing before they even
began. Such a high failure rate can be attributed to the complexity and large number of variables involved
in an interplanetary journey, and has led researchers to jokingly speak of The Great Galactic Ghoulwhich
subsists on a diet of Mars probes. This phenomenon is also informally known as the Mars Curse.

Jupiter

The exploration of Jupiter has consisted solely of a number of automated NASA spacecraft visiting the
planet since 1973. A large majority of the missions have been "flybys", in which detailed observations are
taken without the probe landing or entering orbit; the Galileo spacecraft is the only one to have orbited
the planet. As Jupiter is believed to have only a relatively small rocky core and no real solid surface, a
landing mission is nearly impossible.

Reaching Jupiter from Earth requires a delta-v of 9.2 km/s, which is comparable to the 9.7 km/s delta-v
needed to reach low Earth orbit. Fortunately, gravity assists through planetary flybys can be used to
reduce the energy required at launch to reach Jupiter, albeit at the cost of a significantly longer flight
duration

Jupiter has over 60 known moons, many of which have relatively little known about them.

Saturn

Saturn has been explored only through unmanned spacecraft launched by NASA, including one mission
(Cassini–Huygens) planned and executed in cooperation with other space agencies. These missions
consist of flybys in 1979 by Pioneer 11, in 1980 by Voyager 1, in 1982 by Voyager 2 and an orbital
mission by the Cassini spacecraft which entered orbit in 2004 and is expected to continue its mission well
into 2010.

Saturn has at least 60 satellites, although the exact number is debatable since Saturn's rings are made up
of vast numbers of independently orbiting objects of varying sizes. The largest of the moons is Titan.
Titan holds the distinction of being the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere denser and
thicker than that of the Earth. As a result of the deployment from the Cassini spacecraft of the Huygens
probe and its successful landing on Titan, Titan also holds the distinction of being the only moon (apart
from Earth's own Moon) to be successfully explored with a lander.

Uranus

The exploration of Uranus has been entirely through the Voyager 2 spacecraft, with no other visits
currently planned. Given its axial tilt of 97.77°, with its polar regions exposed to sunlight or darkness for
long periods, scientists were not sure what to expect at Uranus. The closest approach to Uranus occurred
on January 24, 1986. Voyager 2 studied the planet's unique atmosphere and magnetosphere. Voyager 2
also examined its ring system and the moons of Uranus including all five of the previously known moons,
while discovering an additional ten previously unknown moons.

Images of Uranus proved to have a very uniform appearance, with no evidence of the dramatic storms or
atmospheric banding evident on Jupiter and Saturn. Great effort was required to even identify a few
clouds in the images of the planet. The magnetosphere of Uranus, however, proved to be completely
unique and proved to be profoundly affected by the planet's unusual axial tilt. In contrast to the bland
appearance of Uranus itself, striking images were obtained of the moons of Uranus, including evidence
that Miranda had been unusually geologically active.

Neptune

The exploration of Neptune began with the August 25, 1989 Voyager 2 flyby, the sole visit to the system
as of 2009. The possibility of a Neptune Orbiter has been discussed, but no other missions have been
given serious thought.

Although the extremely uniform appearance of Uranus during Voyager 2's visit in 1986 had led to
expectations that Neptune would also have few visible atmospheric phenomena, Voyager 2 found that
Neptune had obvious banding, visible clouds, auroras, and even a conspicuous anticyclone storm system
rivaled in size only by Jupiter's Great Spot. Neptune also proved to have the fastest winds of any planet in
the solar system, measured as high as 2,100 km/h. Voyager 2 also examined Neptune's ring and moon
system. It discovered four complete rings and additional partial ring "arcs" around Neptune. In addition to
examining Neptune's three previously known moons, Voyager 2 also discovered five previously unknown
moons, one of which, Proteus, proved to be the second largest moon in the system. Data from Voyager
further reinforced the view that Neptune's largest moon, Triton, is a captured Kuiper belt object.

International Year of Astronomy

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took
place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a
telescope by Galileo Galilei and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century.
The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations. A global scheme, laid out by
the International Astronomical Union (IAU), was also endorsed by UNESCO, the UN body responsible
for educational, scientific, and cultural matters.

The IAU coordinated the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. This initiative was an opportunity for
the citizens of Earth to gain a deeper insight into astronomy’s role in enriching all human cultures.
Moreover, served as a platform for informing the public about the latest astronomical discoveries while
emphasizing the essential role of astronomy in science education. IYA2009 was sponsored by Celestron
and Thales Alenia Space.
Intended purpose

Vision

The vision of IYA2009 was to help people rediscover their place in the Universe through the sky, and
thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery. IYA2009 activities took place locally,
nationally, regionally and internationally. National Nodes were formed in each country to prepare
activities for 2009. These nodes established collaborations between professional and amateur
astronomers, science centres and science communicators. More than 100 countries were involved, and
well over 140 participated eventually. To help coordinate this huge global programme and to provide an
important resource for the participating countries, the IAU established a central Secretariat and the
IYA2009 website as the principal IYA2009 resource for public, professionals and media alike.

Aims

Astronomy, the oldest science in history, has played an important role in most, if not all, cultures over the
ages. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is intended to be a global celebration of
astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, stimulating worldwide interest not only in
astronomy, but in science in general, with a particular slant towards young people.

The IYA2009 marks the monumental leap forward that followed Galileo’s first use of the telescope for
astronomical observations, and portrays astronomy as a peaceful global scientific endeavour that unites
amateur and professional astronomers in an international and multicultural family that works together to
find answers to some of the most fundamental questions that humankind has ever asked. The aim of the
Year is to stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science under the central theme "The Universe,
Yours to Discover."

Several committees were formed to oversee the vast majority of IYA2009 activities (“sidewalk
astronomy” events in planetariums and public observatories), which spun local, regional and national
levels. These committees are collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers, science
centres and science communicators. Individual countries will be undertaking their own initiatives as well
as assessing their own national needs, while the IAU acted as the event’s coordinator and catalyst on a
global scale. The IAU plans to liaise with, and involve, as many as possible of the ongoing outreach and
education efforts throughout the world, including those organized by amateur astronomers.

Goals

The major goals of IYA2009 were to:

1. Increase scientific awareness;

2. Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences;
3. Empower astronomical communities in developing countries;
4. Support and improve formal and informal science education;
5. Provide a modern image of science and scientists;
6. Facilitate new networks and strengthen existing ones;
7. Improve the gender-balanced representation of scientists at all levels and promote greater
involvement by underrepresented minorities in scientific and engineering careers;
 8. Facilitate the preservation and protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage of dark
skies in places such as urban oases, national parks and astronomical sites.

As part of the scheme, IYA2009 helped less well-established organizations from the developing world to
become involved with larger organizations and deliver their contributions, linked via a huge global
network. This initiative also aims at reaching economically disadvantaged children across the globe and
enhance their understanding of the world

The Secretariat

The central hub of the IAU activities for the IYA2009 was the United Nations Secretariat. This was
established to coordinate activities during the planning, execution and evaluation of the Year. The
Secretariat is based in the European Southern Observatory headquarters in the town of Garching near
Munich, Germany. The Secretariat will liaise continuously with the National Nodes, Task Groups,
Partners and Organizational Associates, the media and the general public to ensure the progress of the
IYA2009 at all levels. The Secretariat and the website are the most important coordination and resource
centers for all the participating countries, but most particularly for those developing countries that lack
the national resources to mount major events alone.

Cornerstone projects

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 was supported by eleven Cornerstone projects. These are
global programs of activities centered on specific themes and are some of the projects that helped to
achieve IYA2009's main goals; whether it is the support and promotion of women in astronomy, the
preservation of dark-sky sites around the world or educating and explaining the workings of the Universe
to millions, the eleven Cornerstones were the key elements in the success of IYA2009.

100 Hours of Astronomy

100 Hours of Astronomy (100HA is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, 2009 and was
part of the scheduled global activities of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The main goals of
100HA was to have as many people throughout the world looking through a telescope just as Galileo did
for the first time 400 years ago. Event included special webcasts, students and teachers activities, a
schedule of events at science centers, planetariums and science museums as well as 24 hours of sidewalk
astronomy, which allowed the opportunity for public observing sessions to as many people as possible.

Galileoscope

The Galileoscope is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, program is to share a personal
experience of practical astronomical observations with as many people as possible across the world. It is
collaborating with the US IYA2009 National Node to develop a simple, accessible, easy-to-assemble and
easy-to-use telescope that can be distributed by the millions. In theory, every participant in an IYA2009
event should be able to take home one of these little telescopes, enabling them to observe with an
instrument similar to Galileo's one.
Cosmic Diary

The Cosmic Diary is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, is not about the science of
astronomy, but about what it is like to be an astronomer. Professionals will blog in texts and images about
their life, families, friends, hobbies and interests, as well as their work, latest research findings and the
challenges they face. The bloggers represent a vibrant cross-section of working astronomers from all
around the world. They write in many different languages and come from five continents. They have also
written feature article "explanations" about their specialist fields, which are highlighted in? the website.
NASA, ESA and ESO all have sub-blogs as part of the Cosmic Diary Cornerstone.

The Portal to the Universe

The Portal to the Universe (PTTU)[11] is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2–5, provides a
global, one-stop portal for online astronomy contents, serving as an index, aggregator and a social
networking site for astronomy content providers, laypeople, press, educators, decision-makers and
scientists. PTTU will feature news, image, event and video aggregation; a comprehensive directory of
observatories, facilities, astronomical societies, amateur astronomy societies, space artists, science
communication universities; and Web 2.0 collaborative tools, such as the ranking of different services
according to popularity, to promote interaction within the astronomy multimedia community. In addition,
a range of "widgets" (small applications) will be developed to tap into existing "live data". Modern
technology and the standardisation of metadata make it possible to tie all the suppliers of such
information together with a single, semi-automatically updating portal.

Dark Skies Awareness

Dark Skies Awarenessis a worldwide astronomy event that ran from April 2 to 5. The IAU collaborated
with the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), representatives of the International
Dark-Sky Association (IDA), the Starlight Initiative, and other national and international partners in dark
sky and environmental education on several related themes. The focus will be on three main citizen-
scientist programs to measure local levels of light pollution. These programs will take the form of "star
hunts" or "star counts", providing people with a fun and direct way to acquire heightened awareness about
light pollution through firsthand observations of the night sky. Together the three programs will cover the
entire International Year of Astronomy 2009, namely GLOBE at Night (in March), the Great World Wide
Star Count (in October) and How Many Stars (January, February, April through September, November
and December).

UNESCO and the IAU are working together to implement a research and education collaboration as part
of UNESCO's thematic initiative, Astronomy and World Heritageis a worldwide astronomy event that ran
April 2nd-5th, . The main objective is to establish a link between science and culture on the basis of
research aimed at acknowledging the cultural and scientific values of properties connected with
astronomy. This programme provides an opportunity to identify properties related to astronomy located
around the world, to preserve their memory and save them from progressive deterioration. Support from
the international community is needed to implement this activity and to promote the recognition of
astronomical knowledge through the nomination of sites that celebrate important achievements in science.

Galileo Teacher Training Program

The Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP): the International Year of Astronomy 2009 provides an
excellent opportunity to engage the formal education community in the excitement of astronomical
discovery as a vehicle for improving the teaching of science in classrooms around the world. To help
training teachers in effective astronomy communication and to sustain the legacy of IYA2009, the IAU
— in collaboration with the National Nodes and leaders in the field such as the Global Hands-On
Universe project, the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific — is embarking on a unique global effort to empower teachers by developing the Galileo Teacher
Training Program (GTTP) .

The GTTP goal is to create a worldwide network of certified "Galileo Ambassadors" by 2012. These
Ambassadors will train "Galileo Master Teachers" in the effective use and transfer of astronomy
education tools and resources into classroom science curricula. The Galileo Teachers will be equipped to
train other teachers in these methodologies, leveraging the work begun during IYA2009 in classrooms
everywhere. Through workshops, online training tools and basic education kits, the products and
techniques developed by this program can be adapted to reach locations with few resources of their own,
as well as computer-connected areas that can take advantage of access to robotic optical and radio
telescopes, webcams, astronomy exercises, cross-disciplinary resources, image processing and digital
universes (web and desktop planetariums). Among GTTP partners, the Global Hands-On Universe project
is a leader.

Universe Awareness

Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, is an international
program that exposes very young children in under-privileged environments to the scale and beauty of the
Universe. Universe Awareness illustrates the multicultural origins of modern astronomy in an effort to
broaden children's minds, awaken their curiosity in science and stimulate global citizenship and tolerance.
Using the sky and children's natural fascination with it as common ground, UNAWE creates an
international awareness of our place in the Universe and our place on Earth.

From Earth to the Universe

The Cornerstone project From Earth to the Universe (FETTU) is a worldwide astronomy event that
began in June 2008 and is still ongoing through 2011. This project endeavors to bring wonderful
astronomical images to a wider audience in non-traditional venues. In delivering these images and the
science behind them to public parks, metro stations, art centers and other locations, it is hoped that
individuals who might normally ignore or even dislike astronomy, or science in general will be engaged.

Developing Astronomy Globally

The Developing Astronomy Globally is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, Cornerstone
project acknowledges that astronomy needs to be developed in three key areas: professionally
(universities and research); publicly (communication, media, and amateur groups) and educationally
(schools and informal education structures). The focus will be on regions that do not already have strong
astronomical communities. The implementation will be centred on training, development and networking
in each of these three key areas. This Cornerstone will use the momentum of IYA2009 to help establish
and enhance regional structures and networks that work on the development of astronomy around the
world. These networks will support the current and future development work of the IAU and other
programmes and should ensure that developing regions can benefit from IYA2009 and the work of the
other Cornerstone projects. It should also address the question of the contribution of astronomy to
development.
Galilean Nights

The Galilean Night is a worldwide astronomy event that ran April 2nd-5th, project involves both amateur
and professional astronomers around the globe taking to the streets their telescopes and pointing them as
Galileo did 400 years ago. The sources of interest will be Jupiter and its moons, the Sun, our Moon and
many others celestial maravels. The event is scheduled to take place on 22-24 October 2009. Astronomers
will share their knowledge and enthusiasm for space by encouraging as many people as possible to look
through a telescope at our planetary neighbours.

Goals, Objectives, Evaluation

The major goals of IYA2009 are to:

1. Increase scientific awareness.

2. Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences.
3. Empower astronomical communities in developing countries.
4. Support and improve formal and informal science education.
5. Provide a modern image of science and scientists.
6. Facilitate new networks and strengthen existing ones.
7. Improve the gender-balanced representation of scientists at all levels and promote greater
involvement by underrepresented minorities in scientific and engineering careers.
8. Facilitate the preservation and protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage of dark
skies in places such as urban oases, national parks and astronomical sites.

IYA2009 will be evaluated by a qualitative and quantitative analysis of how well each objective, as
implemented in hundreds of national, regional and global activities, has been reached. Data will be
collected by online questionnaires after the completion of each activity. The IYA2009 Secretariat will
coordinate the evaluation. A rigorous evaluation procedure will follow each of the four phases of the
project:

 I. Planning (2006-2007).
 II. Preparation (2008).
 III. Implementation (2009).
 IV. Closing, follow-up, evaluation (2010).

Goals Objectives Evaluation estimator

To:
1. Increase the scientific awareness
among the general public through the
communication of scientific results in
astronomy and related fields, as well as
the process of research and critical
thinking that leads to these results.
To:
• Make astronomical breakthroughs • The number of people
more visible in the daily lives of "touched".
billions of people through all
available means of c ommunication • Number of press clippings
(TV/radio documentaries, and readership.
newspapers, web pages,
exhibitions, stamps, blogs, web • Number of people visiting
portals, advertising campaigns etc). national, regional and
global webpages
• Facilitate individual astronomical (webstats).

2. Promote widespread access to the
universal knowledge of fundamental
science through the excitement of
astronomy and sky-observing
experiences.
3. Empower astronomical communities
in developing countries through the
initiation and stimulation of
international collaborations.
4. Support and improve formal and
informal science education in schools as educational material and distribute
well as through science centres,
planetariums and museums.
5. Provide a modern image of science
and scientists to reinforce the links
between science education and science
careers, and thereby stimulate a long-
term increase in student enrolment in
the fields of science and technology, and
an appreciation for lifelong learning.
observing opportunities.
• Enable as many laypeople as
possible, especially children, to
look at the sky through a telescope
and gain a basic understanding of
the Universe.
• Involve astronomical
communities of the developing
nations in the Year, thereby
providing examples of how
outreach and education is carried
out in different parts of the world.
• Develop formal and informal
all over the world.
• Conduct focused training of event
leaders and presenters.
• Popular talks by scientists of all
ages, genders, races.
• Facilitate portraits - on TV, in
web blogs, biographies - of
scientists that break with the
traditional "lab coat view" of
scientists, showing the excitement
of scientific discovery, the
international aspect of scientific
collaborations and portraying the
• Number of activities.
• Number of new products
etc.
• Number of laypeople,
especially young people
and children, viewing the
Universe through a
telescope at street
astronomy events, star
parties, professional
observatory webcasts etc.
• Number of "cheap" new
telescope kits produced,
assembled and distributed.
• Number of participating
developing nations as
measured by the
establishment of National
IYA Nodes.
• Number of new
international partnerships
and joint programs formed.
• Number of people
reached by new initiatives.
• Number of participating
teachers and schools.
• Number of educational
materials distributed.
• Number of new event
leaders and presenters
trained.
• Number of popular talks.
• Number of scientist
portraits.
Public response
questionnaires.
• Evidence for penetration
of astronomy into popular
culture (media, web, TV,
radio talk shows...)

6. Facilitate new, and strengthen
existing, networks by connecting
amateur astronomers, educators,
scientists and c ommunication
professionals through local, regional,
national and international activities.
7. Improve the gender-balanced
representation of scientists at all levels
and promote greater involvement by
underrepresented minorities in
scientific and engineering careers.
8. Facilitate the preservation and
protection of the world's cultural and
natural heritage of dark skies in places
such as urban oases, national parks and
astronomical sites, through the
awareness of the importance and
preservation of the dark skies and
astronomical sites for the natural
environment and humanity heritage.
social sides of scientists.
• Connect as many individuals • Number of National IYA
(named "IYA ambassadors") as Nodes.
well as organisations (amateur and
professional) in networks, for • Number of new networks
instance by creating of new internal and partnerships formed.
and external electronic
communication infrastructures.
These networks will become part
of the heritage of IYA2009.
• Provide access to excellent role • Number of active new
models and mentors, formally and role models and mentors.
informally, and publicise them.
• Number of new
• Provide information about the international partnerships,
female "dual-career" problem and projects and activities.
possible solutions.
• Involve the dark-sky community • Number of activities and
in the IYA2009. events related with the
night sky protection.
• Collaborate on the
implementation of the UNESCO • Number of
and IAU "Astronomical and World countries/cities with the
Heritage" initiative. laws or guidelines for dark
sky preservation.
• Lobby the organizations,
institutions, as well as local, • Areas protected by dark
regional and national governments sky laws.
to approve preservation laws for
dark skies and historical • Number of historical
astronomical sites. astronomical sites
identified and protected
• Bring the issues of natural under the UNESCO's
environment and energy World Heritage
preservation to the agenda of Convention.
decision makers.
Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO, Hindi: भारतीय अन्तरिक्ष अनस ु ंधान संगठन) is the
primary body for space research under the control of the Government of India, and one of the leading
space research organizations in the world. It was established in its modern form in 1969 as a result of
coordinated efforts initiated earlier. Taking into consideration its budget, it is probably one of the most
efficient space organizations on the globe. [original research?]

Under the guidance of a number of scientists, ISRO has conducted a variety of operations for both Indian
and foreign clients. ISRO's satellite launch capability is provided by indigenous launch vehicles and
launch sites. In 2008, ISRO successfully launched its first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, while future plans
include manned space missions, further lunar exploration, and interplanetary probes. ISRO has several
field installations as assets, and cooperates with the international community as a part of several bilateral
and multilateral agreements.

Formative years

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian Space Program.

Modern space research in India is most visibly traced to the activities of scientist S.K. Mitra who
conducted a series of experiments leading to the sounding of the ionosphere by application of ground
based radio methods in 1920's Calcutta. Later, Indian scientists like C.V. Raman and Meghnad Saha
contributed to scientific principles applicable in space sciences. However, it was the period after 1945
which saw important developments being made in coordinated space research in IndiaOrganized space
research in India was spearheaded by two scientists: Vikram Sarabhai—founder of the Physical Research
Laboratory at Ahmedabad—and Homi Bhabha, who had played a role in the establishment of the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945.[2] Initial experiments in space sciences included the study of
cosmic radiation, high altitude and airborne testing of instruments, deep underground experimentation at
the Kolar mines—one of the deepest mining sites in the world — and studies of the upper atmosphere.
Studies were carried out at research laboratories, universities, and independent locations.

Government support became visible by 1950 when the Department of Atomic Energy (India) was
founded with Homi Bhabha as secretary The Department of Atomic Energy provided funding for space
research throughout India. Tests on the Earth's magnetic field—studied in India since the establishment of
the observatory at Colaba in 1823—and aspects of meteorology continued to yield valuable information
and in 1954, Uttar Pradesh state observatory was established at the foothills of the HimalayasThe
Rangpur Observatory was set up in 1957 at Osmania University, HyderabadBoth these facilities enjoyed
the technical support and scientific cooperation of the United States of America. Space research was
further encouraged by the technically inclined prime minister of India—Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1957, the
Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik and opened up possibilities for the rest of the world to
conduct a space launch. The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was found in
1962 with Vikram Sarabhai as its chairman

Beginning in the 1960s, close ties with the Soviet Union enabled ISRO rapidly to develop the Indian
space program and advance nuclear power in India even after the first nuclear test explosion by India on
18 May 1974 at Pokhran The death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash on 24 January 1966 came as a blow to
the Indian space program. Following Bhabha's passing, Sarabhai was sent to assume Bhabha's place as
the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy. The
1960s also saw the founding of the Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC), Experimental Satellite
Communication Earth Station (ESCES, 1967), the Sriharikota base, and the Indian Satellite System
Project (ISSP). The Indian Space Research Organization in its modern form was created by Vikram
Sarabhai in 1969. This body was to take control of all space activities in the Republic of India

Goals and objectives

The prime objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national
tasksThe Indian space program was driven by the vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, considered the father of
Indian Space Programme. As stated by him:

“ There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us,
there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically
advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we
are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of
nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real
problems of man and society. ”

As also pointed out by Dr APJ Kalam:

 “ Many individuals with myopic vision questioned the relevance of space activities in a newly
independent nation, which was finding it difficult to feed its population. Their vision was clear if
Indians were to play meaningful role in the community of nations, they must be second to none
in the application of advanced technologies to their real-life problems. They had no intention of
using it as a mean to display our might. ”

India's economic progress has made its space program more visible and active as the country aims for
greater self-reliance in space technology. Hennock etc. hold that India also connects space exploration to
national prestige, further stating: "This year India has launched 11 satellites, including nine from other
countries—and it became the first nation to launch 10 satellites on one rocket."

Launch vehicle fleet

Comparison of Indian carrier rockets. Left to right: SLV, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV, GSLV III.

Geopolitical and economic considerations during the 1960s and 1970s compelled India to initiate its own
launch vehicle program. During the first phase (1960s-1970s) the country successfully developed a
sounding rockets program, and by the 1980s, research had yielded the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and the
more advanced Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), complete with operational supporting
infrastructure. ISRO further applied its energies to the advancement of launch vehicle technology
resulting in the creation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV) technologies.

Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV)

The Satellite Launch Vehicle, usually known by its abbreviation SLV or SLV-3 was a 4-stage solid-fuel
light launcher. It was intended to reach a height of 500 km and carry a payload of 40 kg. Its first launch
took place in 1979 with 2 more in each subsequent year, and the final launch in 1983. Only two of its four
test flights were successful.

Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)

The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle, usually known by its abbreviation ASLV was a 5-stage solid
propellant rocket with the capability of placing a 150 kg satellite into LEO. This project was started by
the ISRO during the early 1980s to develop technologies needed for a payload to be placed into a
geostationary orbit. Its design was based on Satellite Launch Vehicle. The first launch test was held in
1987, and after that 3 others followed in 1988, 1992 and 1994, out of which only 2 were successful,
before it was decommissioned.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, usually known by its abbreviation PSLV, is an expendable launch
system developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun
synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV, commercially viable only from
Russia. PSLV can also launch small satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The reliability and
versatility of the PSLV is proven by the fact that it has launched 30 spacecraft (14 Indian and 16 from
other countries) into a variety of orbits so far. In April 2008, it successfully launched 10 satellites at once,
breaking a world record held by Russia.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, usually known by its abbreviation GSLV, is an
expendable launch system developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into
geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign rockets. At present, it is ISRO's heaviest
satellite launch vehicle and is capable of putting a total payload of up to 5 tons to Low Earth Orbit.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV III)

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III is a launch vehicle currently under development
by the Indian Space Research Organization. It is intended to launch heavy satellites into geostationary
orbit, and will allow India to become less dependent on foreign rockets for heavy lifting. The rocket is the
technological successor to the GSLV, however is not derived from its predecessor. The maiden flight is
scheduled to take place in 2011.

Earth observation and communication satellites

INSAT-1B.

India's first satellite, the Aryabhata, was launched by the Soviets in 1975. 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.
The INSAT series
INSAT (Indian National Satellite System) is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by
ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology and search-and-rescue needs of India.
Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is the largest domestic communication system in the Asia-Pacific Region.
It is a joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India
Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. The overall coordination and management
of INSAT system rests with the Secretary-level INSAT Coordination Committee.

The IRS series

Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS) are a series of earth observation satellites, built, launched and
maintained by ISRO. The IRS series provides remote sensing services to the country. The Indian Remote
Sensing Satellite system is the largest constellation 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 programs to be undertaken
relevant to national development.

Oceansat series
Oceansat are a series of satellites to primarily study ocean, part of IRS Series. IRS P4 is also known as
Oceansat-1, was launched on 27 May 1999. On 23 September 2009 Oceansat-2 was launched.

Other satellites
ISRO has also launched a set of experimental geostationary satellites known as the GSAT series.
Kalpana-1, ISRO's first dedicated meteorological satellite, was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle on 12 September 2002. The satellite was originally known as MetSat-1. In February 2003 it was
renamed to Kalpana-1 by the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in memory of Kalpana
Chawla – a NASA astronaut of Indian origin who perished in Space Shuttle Columbia.

Extraterrestrial exploration
India's first mission beyond Earth's orbit was Chandrayaan-1, a lunar spacecraft which successfully
entered the lunar orbit on 8 November 2008. ISRO plans to follow up Chandrayaan-1 with Chandrayaan-
2 and unmanned missions to Mars and Near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets.

Lunar exploration
Chandrayaan-1 is India's first mission to the moon. The unmanned lunar exploration mission includes a
lunar orbiter and an impactor called the Moon Impact Probe. India launched the spacecraft using a
modified version of the PSLV is C11 on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008. It carries high-resolution
remote sensing equipment for visible, near infrared, and soft and hard X-ray frequencies. Over its two-
year operational period, it is intended to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its
chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography. The polar regions are of special interest, as they
might contain ice. The lunar mission carries five ISRO payloads and six payloads from other international
space agencies including NASA, ESA, and the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, which were carried free of
cost. The Chandrayaan-1 along with NASA's LRO played a major role in discovering the existence of
water on the moon.

Planetary exploration
The Indian Space Research Organisation had begun preparations for a mission to Mars and had received
seed money of 10 crore from the government.The space agency was looking at launch opportunities
between 2013 and 2015. The space agency would use its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV) to put the satellite in orbit and was considering using ion-thrusters, liquid engines or nuclear
power to propel it further towards Mars. The Mars mission studies had already been completed and that
space scientists were trying to collect scientific proposals and scientific objectives.

Human spaceflight program

Indian Navy Frogmen recovering the SRE-1

The Indian Space Research Organization has been sanctioned a budget of 12,400 crore for its human
spaceflight program. According to the Space Commission which passed the budget, an unmanned flight
will be launched in 2013 and manned mission likely to launch by 2014-2015. If realized in the stated
time-frame, India will become only the fourth nation, after the USSR, USA and China, to successfully
carry out manned missions indigenously.

Technology demonstration
The Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SCRE or more commonly SRE or SRE-1) is an experimental
Indian spacecraft which was launched using the PSLV C7 rocket, along with three other satellites. It
remained in orbit for 12 days before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and splashing down into the Bay
of Bengal.

The SRE-1 was designed to demonstrate the capability to recover an orbiting space capsule, and the
technology for performing experiments in the microgravity conditions of an orbiting platform. It was also
intended to test thermal protection, navigation, guidance, control, deceleration and flotation systems, as
well as study hypersonic aero-thermodynamics, management of communication blackouts, and recovery
operations.

ISRO also plans to launch SRE-2 and SRE-3 in the near future to test advanced re-entry technology for
future manned missions.

Astronaut training and other facilities

ISRO will set up an astronaut training centre in Bangalore by 2012 to prepare personnel for flights
onboard the crewed vehicle. The centre will use water simulation to train the selected astronauts in rescue
and recovery operations and survival in zero gravity, and will undertake studies of the radiation
environment of space.

ISRO will build centrifuges to prepare astronauts for the acceleration phase of the mission. It also plans to
build a new Launch pad to meet the target of launching a manned space mission by 2015. This would be
the third launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Development of crew vehicle

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working towards a maiden manned Indian space
mission vehicle that can carry three astronauts for seven days in a near earth orbit. The Indian manned
spacecraft temporarily named as Orbital Vehicle intend to be the basis of indigenous Indian human
spaceflight program.

The capsule will be designed to carry three people, and a planned upgraded version will be equipped with
a rendezvous and docking capability. In its maiden manned mission, ISRO's largely autonomous 3-ton
capsule will orbit the Earth at 248 miles (400 km) in altitude for up to seven days with a two-person crew
on board. The crew vehicle would launch atop of ISRO's GSLV Mk II, currently under development. The
GSLV Mk II features an indigenously developed cryogenic upper-stage engine. The first test of the
cryogenic engine, held on 15 April 2010, failed as the cryogenic phase did not perform as expected and
rocket deviated from the planned trajectoryA future launch has been scheduled for 2011. If successful
then ISRO will become the sixth entity, after United States, Russia, China, Japan and Europe, to develop
this technology.

Planetary sciences and astronomy

Indian space era dawned when the first two-stage sounding rocket was launched from Thumba in 1963.
However even before this epoch making event, noteworthy contributions were made by the Indian
scientists in the following areas of space science research:

 Cosmic rays and high energy astronomy using both ground based as well as balloon borne
experiments/studies such as neutron/meson monitors, Geiger Muller particle detectors/counters
etc.
 Ionospheric research using ground based radio propagation techniques such as ionosonde,
VLF/HF/VHF radio probing, a chain of magnetometer stations etc.
 Upper atmospheric research using ground based optical techniques such as Dobson spectrometers
for measurement of total ozone content, air glow photometers etc.
  Indian astronomers have been carrying out major investigations using a number of ground based
optical and radio telescopes with varying sophistication.

With the advent of the Indian space program, emphasis was laid on indigenous, self-reliant and state-of-
the-art development of technology for immediate practical applications in the fields of space science
research activities in the country.

There is a national balloon launching facility at Hyderabad jointly supported by TIFR and ISRO. This
facility has been extensively used for carrying out research in high energy (i.e., x- and gamma ray)
astronomy, IR astronomy, middle atmospheric trace constituents including CFCs & aerosols, ionisation,
electric conductivity and electric fields.

The flux of secondary particles and X-ray and gamma-rays of atmospheric origin produced by the
interaction of the cosmic rays is very low. This low background, in the presence of which one has to
detect the feeble signal from cosmic sources is a major advantage in conducting hard X-ray observations
from India. The second advantage is that many bright sources like Cyg X-1, Crab Nebula, Scorpius X-1
and Galactic Centre sources are observable from Hyderabad due to their favourable declination. With
these considerations, an X-Ray astronomy group was formed at TIFR in 1967 and development of an
instrument with an orientable X-Ray telescope for hard X-Ray observations was undertaken. The first
balloon flight with the new instrument was made on 28, April 1968 in which observations of Scorpius X-
1 were successfully carried out. In a succession of balloon flights made with this instrument between
1968 and 1974 a number of binary X-ray sources including Scorpious X-1, Cyg X-1, Her X-1 etc. and the
diffuse cosmic X-ray background were studied. Many new and astrophysically important results were
obtained from these observations.

One of most important achievements of ISRO in this field was the discovery of three species of bacteria
in the upper stratosphere at an altitude of between 20–40 km. The bacteria, highly resistant to ultra-violet
radiation, are not found elsewhere on Earth, leading to speculation on whether they are extraterrestrial in
origin. These three bacteria can be considered to be extremophiles. Until then, the upper stratosphere was
believed to be inhospitable because of the high doses of Ultra-violet radiation. The bacteria were named
as Bacillus isronensis in recognition of ISRO's contribution in the balloon experiments, which led to its
discovery, Bacillus aryabhata after India's celebrated ancient astronomer Aryabhata and Janibacter Hoylei
after the distinguished Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle.

Field installations
ISRO's headquarters is located at Antariksh Bhavan in Bangalore.

Research facilities

Facility Location Description

Solar planetary physics, infrared astronomy, geo-cosmo physics,
Physical Research plasma physics, astrophysics, archaeology, and hydrology are some of
Ahmedabad
Laboratory the branches of study at this institute.[29] An observatory at Udaipur
also falls under the control of this institution. [29]
Research & Development in the field of semiconductor technology,
Semi-Conductor
Chandigarh micro-electromechanical systems and process technologies relating to
Laboratory
semiconductor processing.
National Chittoor The NARL carries out fundamental and applied research in
Atmospheric
Research Atmospheric and Space Sciences.
Laboratory
Raman Research RRI carries out research in selected areas of physics, such as
Bangalore
Institute (RRI) astrophysics and astronomy.
The SAC deals with the various aspects of practical use of space
Space technology.[29] Among the fields of research at the SAC are geodesy,
Applications Ahmedabad satellite based telecommunications, surveying, remote sensing,
Centre meteorology, environment monitoring etc. The SEC additionally
operates the Delhi Earth Station.
North Eastern-
Providing developmental support to North East by undertaking
Space
Shillong specific application projects using remote sensing, GIS, satellite
Applications
communication and conducting space science research.
Center

Test facilities

Facility Location Description

The LPSC handles testing and implementation of liquid
Liquid Bangalore,
propulsion control packages and helps develop engines for
Propulsion Thiruvananthapuram
launch vehicles and satellites. The testing is largely conducted at
Systems Centre , and Mahendragiri
Mahendragiri. The LPSC also constructs precision transducers.

Construction and launch facilities

Facility Location Description

The venue of eight successful spacecraft projects is also one of the
main satellite technology bases of ISRO. The facility serves as a
ISRO Satellite venue for implementing indigenous spacecrafts in India. The
Bangalore
Centre satellites Ayrabhata, Bhaskara, APPLE, and IRS-1A were
constructed at this site, and the IRS and INSAT satellite series are
presently under development here.
With multiple sub-sites the Sriharikota island facility acts as a
launching site for India's satellites. The Sriharikota facility is also
Satish Dhawan the main launch base for India's sounding rockets. The centre is also
Andhra Pradesh
Space Centre home to India's largest Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant
(SPROB) and houses the Static Test and Evaluation Complex
(STEX).
The largest ISRO base is also the main technical centre and the
Vikram venue of development of the SLV-3, ASLV, and PSLV series. The
Sarabhai Space Thiruvananthapuram base supports India's Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
Centre and the Rohini Sounding Rocket program This facility is also
developing the GSLV series.
Thumba
Equatorial
Rocket Thumba TERLS is used to launch sounding rockets.
Launching
Station
Tracking and control facilities

Facility Location Description

This network receives, processes, archives and distributes the
Indian Deep Space
Bangalore spacecraft health data and payload data in real time. It can track and
Network (IDSN)
monitor satellites up to very large distances, even beyond the Moon.
The NRSC applies remote sensing to manage natural resources and
National Remote study aerial surveying With centres at Balanagar and Shadnagar it also
Hyderabad
Sensing Centre has training facilities at Dehradun in form of the Indian Institute of
Remote Sensing.
Bangalore
Indian Space
(headquarters)
Research Software development, ground operations, Tracking Telemetry and
and a number
Organisation Command (TTC), and support is provided by this institution. ISTRAC
of ground
Telemetry, has Tracking stations throughout the country and all over the world in
stations
Tracking and Port Louis (Mauritius), Bearslake (Russia), Biak (Indonesia) and
throughout
Command Brunei.
India and
Network
World.[30]
Geostationary satellite orbit raising, payload testing, and in-orbit
Master Control operations are performed at this facility The MCF has earth stations
Hassan; Bhopal
Facility and Satellite Control Centre (SCC) for controlling satellites. A second
MCF-like facility named 'MCF-B' is being constructed at Bhopal.

Human resource development

Facility Location Description

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) under National Remote
Sensing Centre, Department of Space, Govt. of India is a premier
Indian Institute
training and educational institute set up for developing trained
of Remote Dehradun
professional in the field of Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics and
Sensing (IIRS)
GPS Technology for Natural Resources, Environmental and
Disaster Management.
Indian Institute
of Space
The institute offers undergraduate and graduate courses in
Science and Thiruvananthapuram
Aerospace engineering, Avionics and Physical Sciences.
Technology
(IIST)
Indian Institute
IIA is a premier institute devoted to research in astronomy,
of Astrophysics Bangalore
astrophysics and related physics.
(IIA)
The centre works for education, research, and training, mainly in
Development
conjunction with the INSAT program.[29] The main activities carried
and Educational
Ahmedabad out at DECU include GRAMSAT and EDUSAT projects.[31] The
Communication
Training and Development Communication Channel (TDCC) also
Unit
falls under the operational control of the DECU. [30]

Commercial wing

Facility Location Description

 The marketing agency under government control markets ISRO's
Antrix Corporation Bangalore
hardware, manpower, and software.

Other facilities include:

 Balasore Rocket Launching Station (BRLS) – Orissa

 INSAT Master Control Facility (IMCF) – Bhopal
 ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) – Thiruvananthapuram
 Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)
 Aerospace Command of India (ACI)
 Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)
 Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA)
 Indian Department of Space (IDS)
 Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC)
 Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC)
 Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC)
 Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU)

Vision for the future

A model of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle III.

A model of the RLV-TD

ISRO plans to launch a number of new-generation Earth Observation Satellites in the near future. It will
also undertake the development of new launch vehicles and spacecraft. ISRO has stated that it will send
unmanned missions to Mars and Near-Earth Objects.

Indian lunar exploration programme

 Following the success of Chandrayaan-1, the country's first moon mission, ISRO is planning a
series of further lunar missions in the next decade, including a manned mission which is stated to
take place in 2020 – approximately the same time as the China National Space Administration
(CNSA) manned lunar mission and NASA's Project Constellation plans to return to the moon
with its Orion-Altair project.
 Chandrayaan-2 is the second unmanned lunar exploration mission proposed by ISRO at a
projected cost of 425 crore (US$ 90 million). The mission includes a lunar orbiter as well as a
lander/rover. The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and pick up soil or rock samples
for on-site chemical analysis. The data will be sent to Earth via the orbiter

Space exploration
 ISRO plans to carry out an unmanned mission to Mars in this decade. According to ISRO, the
Mars mission remains at a conceptual stage but is expected to be finalised shortly. The current
version of India's geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle will be used to loft the new craft into
space.

 ISRO is designing a solar probe named Aditya. This is a mini-satellite designed to study the
coupling between the sun and the earth. It is planned to be launched in 2012.

IRNSS
The Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) is an autonomous regional satellite
navigation system being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation which would be under total
control of Indian government. The requirement of such a navigation system is driven by the fact that
access to Global Navigation Satellite Systems like GPS are not guaranteed in hostile situations. ISRO
plans to launch the constellation of satellites between 2010 and 2012.

Development of new launch vehicles

ISRO is currently developing two new-generation launch vehicles, the GSLV-Mk III and the AVATAR
RLV. These launch vehicles will increase ISRO's present launch capability and provide India with a
greater share of the global satellite launch market.

Applications
India uses its satellites communication network – one of the largest in the world – for applications such as
land management, water resources management, natural disaster forecasting, radio networking, weather
forecasting, meteorological imaging and computer communication. [34] Business, administrative services,
and schemes such as the National Informatics Centre (NICNET) are direct beneficiaries of applied
satellite technology. Dinshaw Mistry—on the subject of practical applications of the Indian space
program—writes:

The INSAT-2 satellites also provide telephone links to remote areas; data transmission for organizations
such as the National Stock Exchange; mobile satellite service communications for private operators,
railways, and road transport; and broadcast satellite services, used by India’s state-owned television
agency as well as commercial television channels. India’s Edusat (Educational Satellite), launched aboard
the GSLV in 2004, was intended for adult literacy and distance learning applications in rural areas. It
augmented and would eventually replace such capabilities already provided by INSAT-3B.

The IRS satellites have found applications with the Indian Natural Resource Management program, with
regional Remote Sensing Service Centers in five Indian cities, and with Remote Sensing Application
Centers in twenty Indian states that use IRS images for economic development applications. These
include environmental monitoring, analyzing soil erosion and the impact of soil conservation measures,
forestry management, determining land cover for wildlife sanctuaries, delineating groundwater potential
zones, flood inundation mapping, drought monitoring, estimating crop acreage and deriving agricultural
production estimates, fisheries monitoring, mining and geological applications such as surveying metal
and mineral deposits, and urban planning.

India’s satellites and satellite launch vehicles have had military spin-offs. While India’s 93–124 mile
(150–250 km) range Prithvi missile is not derived from the Indian space program, the intermediate range
Agni missile is drawn from the Indian space program’s SLV-3. In its early years, when headed by Vikram
Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan, ISRO opposed military applications for its dual-use projects such as the
SLV-3. Eventually, however, the Defence Research and Development (DRDO)–based missile program
borrowed human resources and technology from ISRO. Missile scientist A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (elected
president of India in 2002), who had headed the SLV-3 project at ISRO, moved to DRDO to direct
India’s missile program. About a dozen scientists accompanied Abdul Kalam from ISRO to DRDO,
where Abdul Kalam designed the Agni missile using the SLV-3’s solidfuel first stage and a liquid-fuel
(Prithvi-missile-derived) second stage. The IRS and INSAT satellites were primarily intended and used
for civilian-economic applications, but they also offered military spin-offs. In 1996 New Delhi’s Ministry
of Defence temporarily blocked the use of IRS-1C by India’s environmental and agricultural ministries in
order to monitor ballistic missiles near India’s borders. In 1997 the Indian air force’s “Airpower
Doctrine” aspired to use space assets for surveillance and battle management.

Institutions like the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Indian Institute of
Technology use satellites for scholarly applications. Between 1975 and 1976, India conducted its largest
sociological program using space technology, reaching 2400 villages through video programming in local
languages aimed at educational development via ATS-6 technology developed by NASA.

This experiment—named Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)—conducted large scale

video broadcasts resulting in significant improvement in rural education

ISRO has applied its technology to "telemedicine", directly connecting patients in rural areas to medical
professionals in urban locations via satellites. Since high-quality healthcare is not universally available in
some of the remote areas of India, the patients in remote areas are diagnosed and analyzed by doctors in
urban centres in real time via video conferencing. The patient is then advised medicine and treatment. The
patient is then treated by the staff at one of the 'super-specialty hospitals' under instructions from the
doctor.[36] Mobile telemedicine vans are also deployed to visit locations in far-flung areas and provide
diagnosis and support to patients.

ISRO has also helped implement India's Biodiversity Information System, completed in October 2002. [38]
Nirupa Sen details the program: "Based on intensive field sampling and mapping using satellite remote
sensing and geospatial modelling tools, maps have been made of vegetation cover on a 1 : 250,000 scale.
This has been put together in a web-enabled database which links gene-level information of plant species
with spatial information in a BIOSPEC database of the ecological hot spot regions, namely northeastern
India, Western Ghats, Western Himalayas and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This has been made
possible with collaboration between the Department of Biotechnology and ISRO.

The Indian IRS-P5 (CARTOSAT-1) was equipped with high-resolution panchromatic equipment to
enable it for cartographic purposes.

IRS-P5 (CARTOSAT-1) was followed by a more advanced model named IRS-P6 developed also for
agricultural applications.

The CARTOSAT-2 project, equipped with single panchromatic camera which supported scene-specific
on-spot images, succeed the CARTOSAT-1 project

Global cooperation
ISRO has had the benefit of International cooperation since inception.

 Establishment of TERLS, conduct of SITE & STEP, launches of Aryabhata, Bhaskara, APPLE,
IRS-IA and IRS-IB/ satellites, manned space mission, etc. involved international cooperation.
 ISRO operates LUT/MCC under the international COSPAS/SARSAT Programme for Search and
Rescue.
 India has established a Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the
Pacific (CSSTE-AP) that is sponsored by the United Nations.
 India hosted the Second UN-ESCAP Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for
Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific in November 1999.
  India is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,
Cospas-Sarsat, International Astronautical Federation, Committee on Space Research (COSPAR),
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), International Space University, and
the Committee on Earth Observation Satellite (CEOS).
 Chandrayaan-1 carried scientific payloads from NASA, ESA and the Bulgarian Space Agency.
 The Russian Space Agency is cooperating with India in developing the rover for Chandrayaan-2
and also in the Indian manned mission.

ISRO and the Department of Space have signed formal Memorandum of Understanding agreements with
a number of foreign political entities, including:-

  Australia   Italy
  Brazil   Japan
  China   Kazakhstan
  Canada   Netherlands
  Egypt   Norway
 European Union   Russia
  France   Sweden
  Germany   Ukraine
  Hungary   United Kingdom
  Israel   United States

India carries out joint operations with foreign space agencies, such as the Indo-French Megha-Tropiques
Mission. On 25 June 2002 India and the European Union agreed to bilateral cooperation in the field of
science and technology. A joint EU-India group of scholars was formed on 23 November 2001 to further
promote joint research and development. [41] India holds observer status at CERN while a joint India-EU
Software Education and Development Center is due at Bangalore.

NASA To Work With India on Moon Mission

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair
signed an agreement today to put two NASA scientific instruments on India's maiden voyage to the moon.
The Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter is expected to luanch in late 2007 or early 2008.

Image left: Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair and NASA Administrator
Mike Griffin exhange documents after signing the agreement. Photo Credit: Indian Space Research
Organization.

Griffin is touring Indian Space Research Organization facilities this week. He will visit its satellite
development center, its launch vehicle production center, and its launch site.

"It is my hope and belief that as we extend the reach of human civilization throughout the solar system,
the United States and India will be partners on many more
technically challenging and scientifically rewarding projects,"
Griffin said at a ceremony in Bangalore.
"I very much look forward to the opportunity to see first hand India's impressive space facilities, to meet
with your scientists and engineers and to learn more about your remarkable work."

Chandrayaan-1 is a truly international mission, with payloads from Europe as well as the United States.
NASA's contribution includes the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, designed to look for lunar mineral
resources, and an instrument known as Mini-SAR, which will look for ice deposits in the moon's polar
regions. Image right: Artist's concept of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Photo Credit: Indian Space
Research Organization.Data from the two instruments will contribute to NASA's increased understanding
of the lunar environment as it implements the Vision for Space Exploration, which calls for robotic and
human exploration of the moon's surface.

Indian Space Research Organization,ISRO and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
of USA today signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on inclusion of two US Scientific instruments
on board India's first mission to Moon, Chandrayaan-1. These instruments are - Mini Synthetic Aperture
Radar (Mini SAR) developed by Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University and funded by
NASA and Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), jointly built by Brown University and Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) of NASA. The MOU was signed by Mr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, and Dr
Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA at ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore.

Chandrayaan-1, scheduled during 2007-2008, is India's first unmanned scientific mission to moon.

The main objective is the investigation of the distribution of various minerals and chemical elements and
high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of the entire lunar surface. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle, PSLV, will launch Chandrayaan-1 into a 240 km X 24,000 km earth orbit. Subsequently, the
spacecraft's own propulsion system would be used to place it in a 100 km polar orbit around the moon.

The Indian payloads on board Chandrayaan-1 include: a Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), a Hyper
Spectral Imager (HySI), a High-Energy X-ray spectrometer (HEX), a Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument
(LLRI) and a Moon Impact Probe (MIP).The two US instruments, Mini SAR and M3, were selected on
the basis of merit out of 16 firm proposals from all over the world received in response to ISRO's
announcement of opportunity. The main objective of Mini SAR is to detect water in the permanently
shadowed areas of lunar polar regions. The objective of M3 is the characterisation and mapping of
minerals on the lunar surface.Earlier, three instruments - Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer
(CIXS) from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, developed with contribution from ISRO Satellite
Centre; Near Infra-Red Spectrometer (SIR-2) from Max Planck Institute, Germany; and Sub keV Atom
Reflecting Analyser (SARA) from Swedish Institute of Space Physics developed in collaboration with
ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre -- were selected from the European Space Agency besides a
RAdiation DOse Monitor (RADOM) from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The inclusion of US instruments on Chandrayaan-1 has added fillip to the Indo-US cooperation in the
space arena which dates back to the very beginning of the Indian space programme. More recently, the
India-US Conference on Space Science, Applications and Commerce held at Bangalore during in June
2004 led to the setting up of a Joint Working Group to enhance the cooperation in civil space between
India and USA. The Joint Working Group, comprising representatives of government, academic
institutions and industries, had its first meeting in Bangalore in June 2005.
During the signing of MOU today, senior NASA and US Embassy officials and senior officials from
ISRO and Ministry of External Affairs were present. Dr Griffin also visited the laboratories at ISAC and
interacted with senior scientists. He would also be visiting Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at
Thiruvananthapuram and Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR at Sriharikota.

India's human space flight programme got a major boost as the General Budget on Friday proposed a
significant allocation to it and also sought increase in funds for setting up an indigenous global
positioning system.

The Budget, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, has allocated Rs 150
crore for the human spaceflight programme under which the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
plans to develop a space vehicle to put a two-member crew in space and get them back safely.

The government has already approved pre-project research and development activities in this regard.

The plan allocation for ISRO has been pegged at Rs 5,000 crore as against the revised budgetary
estimates of Rs 3,172 crore last year.

The Budget has proposed Rs 100 crore for Chandrayaan-I and II. Space scientists are planning to land
two robotic rovers on the moon to carry out tests on the lunar surface.

The allocation for the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), on the lines of US' Global
Positioning System (GPS), was pegged at Rs 262.10 crore against the revised estimates of Rs 220 crore
last year.

ISRO plans to have a constellation of seven satellites which are expected to provide position accuracies
similar to GPS in a region in and around the country. The first satellite is targeted for launch in 2011.

The Budget allocated Rs 250 crore for developing the semi-cryogenic engine, which is key to
development of advanced rockets to launch heavier satellites.

Mukherjee has earmarked Rs 40 crore for Aditya, the space department's ambitious project to launch a
satellite to study the sun.

The project would be India's maiden space-based coronagraph to study the Sun's corona. The objective of
the project is to have a fundamental understanding of the physical process that heat up the solar corona,
accelerate the solar wind and produce coronal mass ejections.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project has been allocated Rs 250 crore. ISRO's warhorse
rocket, PSLV had put in orbit the Chandrayaan-I and two launches of the rocket are scheduled for the first
quarter of 2010-11.

Major achievements
 1962:Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR); formed by the Department of
Atomic Energy, and work on establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
(TERLS) near Trivandrum began.
 1963: First sounding rocket launched from TERLS on November 21, 1963.
 1965: Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) established in Thumba.
 1967: Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmadabad.
 1972: Space Commission and Department of Space set up.
 1975: First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched (April 19, 1975).
 1976: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) conducted.
 1979: Bhaskara-1, an experimental satellite launched. First experimental launch of SLV-3 with
Rohini satellite on board failed.
 1980: Second experimental launch of SLV-3 Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit.
 1981: APPLE, an experimental geostationary communication satellite successfully launched on
June 19.
 1981: Bhaskara-II launched on November 20.
 1982: INSAT-1A launched (April); deactivated in September.
 1983: Second launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit. INSAT-1B launched.
 1984: Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April). Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to reach
space.
 1987: ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board launched.
 1988: First Indian remote sensing satellite, IRS-1A launched. INSAT-1C launched (July).
Abandoned in November.
 1990: INSAT-1D launched successfully.
 1991: Launch of second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B (August).
 1992: Third developmental launch ofASLV with SROCC-C on board (May). Satellite placed in
orbit. First indigenously built satellite INSAT-2A launched successfully.
 1993: INSAT-2B launched in July successfully. First developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-
1E on board fails.
 1994: Fourth developmental launch of ASLV successful (May). Second developmental launch of
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with IRS-P2 successfully (October).
 1995: INSAT-2C launched in December. Third operational IRS (IRS) launched.
 1996: Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 successful (March).
 1997: INSAT-2D launched in June became inoperational in October. Arabsat1C, since renamed
INSAT-2DT, acquired in November. First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D successful
(September).
 1998: INSAT system capacity augmented with the readiness of INSAT-2DT acquired from
Arabsat (January).
 1999: INSAT-2E the last satellite in the multi-purpose INSAT-2 series, launched by Ariane from
Kourou French Guyana (April 3, 1999). IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar Satellite
launch vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from
Shriharikota(26 May 1999).
 2000: INSAT-3B was launched on 22 March 2000.
 2001: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-D1 (GSLV-D1), the first developmental launch
of GSLV with GSAT-1 onboard partially successful.
 2002: INSAT-3C launched successfully by Arianespace (January), PSLV-C4 launches
KALPANA-1 (September).
  2003: GSLV-D2, the second developmental launch of GSLV with GSAT-2 successful (May).
 2004: First operational flight of GSLV (F01) successfully launches EDUSAT (September).
 2005: Launch of CARTOSAT and HAMSAT by PSLV-C6 from the second launch pad
(Universal Launch Pad) (May). INSAT 4A Launched successfully by the European Ariane-5G.
 2006: Second operational flight of GSLV (F02) unsuccessful July 10, 2006. GSLV-F02 was
carrying INSAT-4C.
 2007: Successful launch of CARTOSAT-2, SRE-1, LAPAN-TUBSAT and PEHUENSAT-1 on
PSLV C7 on January 10, 2007.
 2007: SRE-1 splashed down in the Bay of Bengal on January 22, 2007 and was successfully
recovered by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy, making India one of the few countries to
have re-entry technology.
 2007: INSAT-4B successfully launched by Arianespace on March 12.
 2007: PSLV-C8 successfully places an Italian satellite, AGILE into its orbit on April 23.
 2007:Successful launch of GSLV (GSLV-F04) with INSAT-4CR on board from SDSC SHAR on
September 2.
 2008: PSLV-C10 successfully launches TECSAR satellite under a commercial contract with
AntrixCorporation on January 21.
 2008:PSLV-C9 successfully launches CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1 and 8 foreign nanosatellites from
Shriharikota on April 28
 2008:PSLV-C11 successfully launches CHANDRAYAAN-1 fromSriharikota on October 22.

Satellite Launch Vehicles

 Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) -an all-solid four-stage satellite launch vehicle. The SLV can
place 40 kg into low earth orbit.
 Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) -an all-solid five-stage satellite launch vehicle. The
ASLV can place 150 kg into low earth orbit.

Present
 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) -a four-stage rocket with liquid and solid stages. The
PSLV can place 1600 kg into polar sun synchronous orbit.
 Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark I/II (GSLV-I/II) -a three-stage rocket with solid,
liquid and cryostages. The GSLV can place 2200 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.

Future
 Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-III) -a three-stage rocket with solid,
liquid and cryostages. The GSLV can place 4000-6000 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.
 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) -a small remote-piloted scramjet vehicle called AVATAR. The
RLV will place small satellites into LEO and can be reused for at least 100 launches reducing the
cost of launching satellites

Launch facilities
ISRO operates 3 launch stations:

 Thumba (TERLS -Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station/Vikram Sarabhai Space Center,
Kerala),
 Shriharikota (SRLS -Shriharikota Rocket Launching Station/Satish Dhawan Space Center,
Andhra Pradesh).
 Balasore (BRLS -Balasore RocketLaunching Station, Orissa).The Shriharikota range is used for
launch of satellites and multi-stage rockets. The launch station has two launch pads including the
newest Universal Launch Pad. The two launch pads allow the station to hold up to 6 launches per
year. The other two launch facilities are capable of launching sounding rockets, and other small
rockets that don't produce spent stages.

Comparison with other space agencies

It is suggested that in terms of technical expertise and experience, ISRO is close to other major Asian
space programs, especially China, and in some respects to Japan. Continued development of reliable and
cost-effective launch platforms are expected to see commercial costs of launching payloads on Indian
rockets fall, perhaps by as much as fifty percent. Once established, the Indian GSLV-III should be able to
place 4000 to 6000 kg payloads into GTO Despite ISRO's modest funding, it appears to have achieved
reasonable successes . India is counted amongst the six major space powersof the world, and is among the
top nations in Asia in terms of success and future potential in space. Indian launch vehicles have the
capacity for human spaceflight, however, ISRO has stated that it can achieve all India's commercial and
scientific needs through unmanned spaceflight alone, raising the question of whether a crewed spaceflight
will occur.

Shriharikota (SRLS -Shriharikota Rocket Launching Station/Satish Dhawan

Space Center, Andhra Pradesh).

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR)

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) is the launch centre for the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). It is located in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, India and is also referred to as
Sriharikota. The centre is located 80 km (50 mi) north of Chennai in South India. It was originally called
Sriharikota Range, and was sometime known as Sriharikota Launching Range. The centre was renamed
to its present name in 2002 after the death of ISRO's former chairman Satish Dhawan. The space centre
has kept the title SHAR during these name changes.

History

The centre became operational 1971-10-01 when an RH-125 sounding rocket was launched. The first
attempted launch of an orbital satellite, Rohini 1A aboard a Satellite Launch Vehicle, took place 1979-08-
10, but due to a failure in thrust vectoring of the rocket's second stage, the satellite's orbit decayed 1979-
08-19.

The SHAR facility now consists of two launch pads, with the second built recently. The second launch
pad was used for launches beginning in 2005 and is a universal launch pad, accommodating all of the
launch vehicles used by ISRO. The two launch pads will allow multiple launches in a single year, which
was not possible earlier. India's lunar orbiter Chandrayaan 1 launched from the centre at 6:22 AM IST on
22 October 2008.

SHAR will be the main base for the Indian human spaceflight program. A new third launchpad will built
specifically to meet the target of launching a manned space mission by 2015.

Location

Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, located at Sriharikota, a spindle shaped island on the East Coast of
Andhra Pradesh, adjacent to Sricity, a developing satellite city in the epicentre of Andhra Pradesh &
Tamil Nadu, about 70 km (43 mi) north of Chennai, is the spaceport of India. This island was chosen in
1969 for setting up of a satellite launching station. Features like a good launch azimuth corridor for
various missions, advantage of earth's rotation for eastward launchings, nearness to the equator, and large
uninhabited area for the safety zone — all make Sriharikota Range, popularly known as 'SHAR', an ideal
spaceport. Off naidupet a big town in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh on the national highway
connecting Chennai and Kolkata — a 20-minute drive towards the east on the road laid across the Pulicat
Lake takes one to Sriharikota. SHAR was named as 'Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR' (SDSC), on
5 September 2002, in memory of Prof Satish Dhawan, former Chairman of the ISRO.

SHAR covers a total area of about 145 km (90 mi) with a coastal length of 27 km (17 mi). Prior to its
acquisition for ISRO by the Indian Government, its was a firewood plantation of Eucalyptus and
Casuarina trees. This island is affected by both south-westerly and north-easterly monsoons, but heavy
rains come only in October and November. Thus many clear days are available for out-door static tests
and launchings.

Launch History

Originally known as the Sriharikota Range (SHAR) and later named after Satish Dhawan, it is India's
primary orbital launch site to this day. The first flight-test of 'Rohini-125', a small sounding rocket which
took place on October 9, 1971 was the first ever spaceflight from SHAR. Since then technical, logistic
and administrative infrastructure have been enhanced. Together with the northerly Balasore Rocket
Launching Station, the facilities are operated under the ISRO Range Complex (IREX) headquartered at
SHAR.

Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV)

The range became operational when three Rohini 125 sounding rockets were launched on 9 and 10
October 1971. Previously, India used Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), on the
west coast of India, to launch sounding rockets. The first test launch of the complete SLV-3 rocket
occurred in August 1979 but it was only partially successful following a malfunction in the second stage
guidance system. SHAR facilities worked satisfactorily during the SLV-3 preparation and launch. On
18 July 1980 the SLV-3 successfully launched India's third satellite. Out of the four SLV launches from
SHAR, two were successful.

Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)

The ASLV orbital launcher was integrated vertically, beginning with motor and subassembly preparations
in the Vehicle Integration Building (VIB) and completed on the pad within the 40 m tall Mobile Service
Structure. The first ASLV launch from SHAR took place in 1987 and resulted in a failure. Eventually, out
the four ASLV launches from 1987–94, only one was successful.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

The PSLV launch complex was commissioned during 1990. It has a 3,000 tonne, 76.5 m high Mobile
Service Tower (MST) which provides the SP-3 payload clean room. The solid propellant motors for the
PSLV are processed by SHAR, which also carries out launch operations. The first launch of the PSLV
took place on 20 September 1993. Since then out of 15 launches, PSLV has a recorded 14 successes.
PSLV is launched both from the first and the second launch pad.

Facilities

The Centre has two operational orbital launch pads. SHAR is ISRO's satellite launching base and
additionally provides launch facilities for the full range of Rohini sounding rockets. The Vehicle
Assembly, Static Test and Evaluation Complex (VAST, previously STEX) and the Solid Propellant Space
Booster Plant (SPROB) are located at SHAR for casting and testing solid motors. The site also has a
Telemetry Tracking & Control centre, the Management Service Group and Sriharikota Common
Facilities. The PSLV launch complex was commissioned in 1990. It has a 3,000 tonne, 76.5 m high
Mobile Service Tower (MST) which provides the SP-3 payload clean room.

The solid propellant space booster plant(SPROB) processes large size propellant grains for the satellite
launch vehicles. The Static Test & Evaluation Complex (STEX) tests and qualifies different types of solid
motor for launch vehicles. The closed center at SHAR houses computers and data processing, closed
circuit television, real-time tracking systems and meteorological observation equipment. It is linked to
three radars located at Sriharikota and the five stations of ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking & Command
Network (ISTRAC).

The propellant production plant produces composite solid propellant for rocket motors of ISRO using
ammonium perchlorate (oxidiser), fine aluminium powder (fuel) and hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene
(binder). The solid motors processed here include those for the first stage booster motor of the Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) — a five segmented motor of 2.8 m diameter and 22 m length, weighing
160 tons with a thrust level of 450 tons.

Rocket motors and their subsystems have to be rigorously tested and evaluated on ground before they are
declared flight worthy. The facilities at SDSC SHAR are used for testing solid rocket motors, both at
ambient conditions and simulated high altitude conditions. Besides these, there are facilities for
conducting Vibration, Shock, Constant Acceleration and Thermal/humidity tests.

SDSC SHAR has infrastructure for launching satellites into low earth orbit, polar orbit and geo-stationary
transfer orbit. The launch complexes provide support for vehicle assembly, fuelling, checkout and launch
operations. The Centre also has facilities for launching sounding rockets for atmospheric studies. The
mobile service tower, launch pad, preparation facilities for different launch stages & spacecraft, storage,
transfer and servicing facilities for liquid propellants, etc., are the principal parts of the PSLV/GSLV
launch complex.

For supporting the GSLV Mk III programme additional facilities are being set up at SDSC. A new plant is
being set up to process heavier class boosters with 200 tonnes of Solid propellant. The static test complex
is being augmented for qualifying the S-200 booster. Other new facilities include a Solid Stage Assembly
Building, Satellite Preparation and Filling Facility and Hardware Storage buildings. The existing liquid
propellant and cryogenic propellant storage and filling systems, Propellant Servicing Facilities will also
be augmented. The range instrumentation system will be enhanced further.

Launchpads
Old Launch Pad (Launch Pad-1)

This was the first launch pad built at SHAR during the late 1960s. It became operational in 1971 and
since then numerous launches have taken place. It is operational even today and is used for PSLV
launches.

Second Launch Pad (SLP)

The SLP at SHAR is a state-of-the-art launch complex. SLP is configured as a universal launch pad
capable of accommodating all the launch vehicles of ISRO including the advanced launch vehicles to be
built in the next decade and beyond. It became operational in 2005.

Third Launch Pad

The Third Launch Pad is specifically being built for manned missions at a cost of Rs 600 crores. It is
scheduled to be completed by 2012 and the first test flight would take place in 2013.

Notable Launches from SHAR

 1979: First experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini satellite on board failed.
 1980: Second experimental launch of SLV-3 Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit.
 1983: Second launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit.
 1987: ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board launched.
  1992: Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROCC-C on board (May). Satellite placed in
orbit. First indigenously built satellite
 1993: First developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-1E on board fails.
 1994: Fourth developmental launch of ASLV successful (May). Second developmental launch of
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with IRS-P2 successfully (October).
 1995: Third operational IRS (IRS) launched.
 1996: Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 successful (March).
 1997: First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D successful (September).
 1999: IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar Satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with
Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (26 May 1999).
 2001: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-D1 (GSLV-D1), the first developmental launch
of GSLV with GSAT-1 onboard partially successful.
 2002: PSLV-C4 launches MetSat-1, later renamed Kalpana-1 (September).
 2003: GSLV-D2, the second developmental launch of GSLV with GSAT-2 successful (May).
 2004: First operational flight of GSLV (F01) successfully launches EDUSAT (September).
 2005: Launch of CARTOSAT and HAMSAT by PSLV-C6 from the second launch pad
(Universal Launch Pad) (May).
 2006: Second operational flight of GSLV (F02) unsuccessful July 10, 2006. GSLV-F02 was
carrying INSAT-4C.
 2007: Successful launch of CARTOSAT-2, SRE-1, LAPAN-TUBSAT and PEHUENSAT-1 on
PSLV C7 on January 10, 2007.
 2007: SRE-1 splashed down in the Bay of Bengal on January 22, 2007 and was successfully
recovered by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy, making India one of the few countries to
have re-entry technology.
 2007: PSLV-C8 successfully places an Italian satellite, AGILE into its orbit on April 23.
 2 September 2007 — GSLV-F04 launched with INSAT 4CR[7]
 21 January 2008 — PSLV-C10 launches TecSAR.
 28 April 2008 — PSLV-C-9 launches 10 Satellites successfully (2 Indian + 8 foreign)
 22 October 2008 — Chandrayaan-1 (Moon Vehicle) spacecraft launched from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota by PSLV-XL (PSLV-C11) in a highly elliptical initial orbit
(IO) with perigee (nearest point to the Earth) of about 257 km and an apogee (farthest point from
the Earth) of about 22,858 km.

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