The History and Legacy behind ISRO
A brief explanation of the story behind the Indian Space Research Organization

The story begins in 1945. It was clear that India will soon be independent, and excitement and optimism was in the air for most scientific circles in the country. The period after 1945 saw important developments being made in coordinated space research in India, even though modern space research in India started during the 1920s.
The Indian space program was conceptualized by two Indian visionaries, Vikram Sarabhai, who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space program and Homi Bhabha, the father of India’s Nuclear program.
Vikram Sarabhi was the man behind the Physical Research Laboratory. Known as the cradle of space sciences in India, the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai. PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, with research on cosmic rays.
In 1945, Homi Bhabha established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, which went on to become one of the best universities in Asia. 5 years later, in 1950, Homi Bhabha was appointed as the secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy. The Department provided funding for space research throughout India.
4 years later, in 1954, the Uttar Pradesh state observatory was established at the foothills of the Himalayas. Yet another observatory was established at Osmania University in Hyderabad in 1957. The then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also India’s first Prime Minister, was highly inclined towards technology, and believed that only technology would lead to the development of India. Nehru further encouraged the space research that was going on in India at that time.
With the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the Soviet Union kick started the space race. This event shocked the world, and was one the most important events in human history. In 1962, Prime Minister Nehru set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research, or INCOSPAR. By 1969, the United States sent shock waves around the world by not only putting man on the face of the moon, but also bringing them back, making a statement that the US was clearly ahead of the rest of world in space research.
It is very important, at this point, to note that in 1969, both the United States of America and the Soviet Union were economically and scientifically advanced, but India was still a developing country. Not only was India a developing country, it was also not a very technologically advanced country back in 1969. Therefore, it is safe to say that it was highly ambitious to set up a space program in a country that was still developing and has recently achieved independence. Many people in India questioned the very purpose of a space program in a country like India. Poverty was widespread and corruption was rampant. Scientific awareness was non-existent among most people, and there was widespread criticism on the Government for spending so much money on space activities and space research programs. Unlike the general public in the United States and the Soviet Union, who supported their respective Governments and realized that space research would not only lead to greater self-reliance in space technology, but it was also a question of their respective countries’ integrity, the general public in India was highly critical. A major reason for this is that hunger and poverty was a bigger problem in India back then. But the scientific community in India was resilient and stood by their beliefs. Vikram Sarabhai famously said in 1969,
“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.”
This vision of Vikram Sarabhai and several other top Indian scientists ensured that the Indian Space Research Organization would have a lasting legacy, and decades later, it has never been more clear that India is move towards the right direction and towards greater self-reliance in space technology.
Here is a brief timeline of ISRO’s most important missions since it’s inception.
In early 1970 under the leadership of APJ Abdul Kalam, the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) project was initiated. The aim of this project was to develop the necessary technology to launch satellites.
In 1975, first Indian satellite named Aryabhata was launched from Kapustin Yar of Russia.
In 1992, ISRO successfully launched Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) carrying SROSS-C satellite.
In 2001, ISRO successfully launched a heavy rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with GSAT-1 satellite.
In 2008, Chandrayaan, India’s first unmanned lunar probe was launched by ISRO.
In 2012, ISRO successfully launched it’s 100th space mission using PSLV-C21 rocket and placed two foreign satellites into the orbit of the earth
In 2013, ISRO launched of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan using the PSLV-XL.
In 2014, the Mangalyaan successfully entered the Martian orbit, and India became the first country to complete a maiden Mars mission.
On February 15th, 2017, ISRO successfully put 104 satellites of seven countries into the orbit in a single mission.
