ISRO: 10 reasons Indians should be really proud of country's space programme

PSLV-C37/Cartosat - 2 Series Satellite Launch

Space agency ISRO on February 15, 2017 scripted history by successfully launching a record 104 satellites, including India's earth observation satellite, on a single rocket from the Sriharikota spaceport.

This is the highest number of satellites ever launched in a single mission.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37 blasted off at 9:28 AM from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and first injected Cartosat-2 series satellite into orbit followed by the other 103 nano satellites, including 96 from the U.S, in a gap of about 30 minutes.

Aryabhata

Aryabhata spacecraft was India's first satellite and was named after famous Indian astronomer. It was launched by India on 19 April 1975 from a Russian facility. It marked a milestone as it was solely designed by the ISRO.

APPLE

India's first communication satellite, Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment, or APPLE was an experimental communication satellite launched by Ariane-1 in 1981 from French Guiana marking an important milestone in India's space programme.

Indira Gandhi had dedicated APPLE to the nation on August 13, 1981 and symbolically handed over the model of APPLE to the Minister for Communications saying that APPLE marked the 'Dawn of India's satellite communication era'.

Indira Gandhi's address to the Nation on August 15 from the Red Fort was carried live by APPLE.

INSAT

The Indian National Satellite System, also popularly known as INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geo-stationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Launched 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.

Chandrayaan-1

This was India's first mission to the moon. ISRO launched the spacecraft on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

This was also the first mission in the world to discover water on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-166 team was awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SPACE 2009 award, the International Lunar Exploration Working Group's International Co-operation award in 2008 and the National Space Society's 2009 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category.

Mangalayaan

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)was launched into Earth orbit on November 5, 2013 by ISRO. It entered the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014. This space program made India the first country to be successful in its first attempt to enter the Mars' orbit.

This was also completed at a record cost of USD 74 million.

The National Space Society awarded the Mars Orbiter Mission team the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category.

IRNSS-1G

In April 2016, ISRO successfully completed the seven consecutive launch of navigation satellite with IRNSS-1G, which was the last of the constellation. The navigation satellites aim at making India self-sufficient with indigenous navigation system. The satellites will provide real-time positioning and timing services. Its services will be extended to regions 1,500 km around India.

Reusable Launch Vehicle

In May 2016, Isro successfully tested the Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD. The winged flight vehicle that glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal in a 10-minute mission was the first stage of a fully re-usable vehicle, seen as the future of low cost, reliable and on-demand space access.

Launching 20 satellites

In June 2016, the Isro launched 20 satellites in one mission which is a record for the space agency. Apart from Isro's own satellites and those built by university students in the country, the mission also carried satellites from the US, Germany Indonesia and Canada.

ISRO's Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator

On August 28, 2016 India was the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of Scramjet Engine which is an important milestone to design and develop advanced air breathing engines including engines for ISRO's future space transportation system.