Tell about ISRO ?

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 (pictured above) cost 386 crore rupees (approx) which is almost 9 times less than what NASA spends on a similar exploration.

Apart from bigwigs from ISRO and other related space bodies, two of India’s biggest industrialists – Ratan Tata and Jamshyd Godrej – are on the board.

In 2008-09, the Indian Space and Research Organisation successfully launched a lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, which discovered evidence of water on the moon. Mangalyaan was developed from technology tested during the Chandrayaan mission.

Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first unmanned lunar probe. India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the moon. The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008. Thus, India joined an elite group of nations involved in lunar exploration which included US, erstwhile USSR, China, Japan.

The remote sensing lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 had a mass of 1,380 kilograms (3,042 lb) at launch and 675 kilograms (1,488 lb) in lunar orbit. It carried high-resolution remote sensing equipment for visible, near infrared, and soft and hard X-ray frequencies. Over a two-year period, it was intended to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and three-dimensional topography.

ISRO IS CREDITED FOR HAVING THE MOST NUMBER OF BACHELORS IN ANY SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION.

When Indian scientists asked for the methodologies and engineering assistance from US for our Mars mission long back, they refused. We didn’t give up. They tried hard and developed new methodology and engineering indigenously and made this historical achievement with much cheaper cost.

ISRO IS ONE OF THE SIX SPACE AGENCIES IN THE WORLD WITH THE CAPABILITY TO BUILD AND LAUNCH SATELLITES FROM ITS OWN SOIL.

After suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan-1 stopped sending radio signals at 1:30 AM IST on 29 August 2009 shortly after which, the ISRO officially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years, but the mission achieved 95 percent of its planned objectives. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil.

ISRO HAS TILL DATE LAUNCHED 23 CONSECUTIVE SUCCESSFUL PSLV LAUNCHES.

From the data collected from Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO scientists discovered a giant underground chamber on the moon, which could be used as a lunar base by astronauts for inter-planetary missions.

APART FROM LAUNCHING INDIA’S 65 SATELLITES, ISRO HAS ALSO LAUNCHED 29 FOREIGN SATELLITES TILL DATE.

This image became pretty famous as a metaphor as to how the high-tech Indian space program coexists with general impoverishment. The reality was quite different. Contrary to the general belief that India’s didn’t have trucks in 1980s, this is a classic example of the supposedly unique Indian concept of Jugaad. The day when the photo was taken they were taking the satellite out for an antenna-range test. With a basic understanding of physics, it is well-known that testing an antenna by placing it, in the bed of a truck isn’t the best since the truck is metallic. The simplest work-around was to use a wooden bullock cart.

ISRO is one of the six space agencies in the world with the capability to build and launch satellites from its own soil.

The heaviest satellite launched by ISRO was 5 ton. It was launched in 2001 and it is still active.

ISRO has till date launched 23 consecutive successful PSLV launches.

Apart from launching India’s 65 satellites, ISRO has also launched 29 foreign satellites till date.

ISRO’s headquarter is in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

ISRO’s first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1975.

Rohini was the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle (the Satellite Launch Vehicle 3). It was launched in 1980.

ISRO has 13 centers spread all across India, namely, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Space Applications Centre (SAC), Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU), ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), INSAT Master Control Facility (MCF), ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), National Mesosphere/Stratosphere Troposphere Radar Facility (NMRF).

Selection of candidates to work in ISRO are recruited through a ISRO Centralised Recruitment Board (ICRB).

The ability to supply satellite navigation signals is also the ability to deny their availability. The operator of a satellite navigation system potentially has the ability to degrade or eliminate satellite navigation services over any territory it desires. Indian defense forces are primarily dependent on American and Russian satellite navigation systems, which in times of war are liable to be shut down. The IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System) Navigation Satellite System planned by ISRO is a constellation of 7 satellites. The first one was launched on July 2013 and the last one is bound to be launched around 2015.

On July 1, 2013, India became the 6th country in the world to launch its own dedicated navigation satellite System. IRNSS 1A would provide accurate real-time positioning and timing information to users in the country, extending up to 1,500 km around the nation.

Current GPS receivers and mobile phones will be incompatible with the IRNSS navigation satellites