Skip to main content

Facts About ISRO

Image result for from fishing hamlet to red planet



I have been reading From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet, would be sharing some interesting excerpts and facts I come across.

  • First Satellite Telemetry Ground Station at SHAR was bought at 10% of original cost as European Launcher Development Organisation had decided to abandon its programme to develop an All-European Satellite Launch Vehicle. It was shipped from Adelaide, Australia.
  • The first launch from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) made India enter the space age on 21st November 1963. The Kerala Legislative Assembly was temporarily adjourned to have a good view of the bright vapour trail in the sky!
  • Aryabhata - The First Satellite of India was named by then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. It was built in the remodelled sheds at the outskirts of Banglore with an initial budget set to 3 crores. There is a two-rupees note with Aryabhata at the back.
  • The First Sounding Rocket to be made in India was Centaure II-B. It was manufactured at Rocket Fabrication Facility (RFF) and Rocket Propellant Plant (RPP) at Thumba under license from France. This programme though started in 1964, led way for ISRO's launch vehicles, as an alloy (15CDV6) used in ISRO's launch vehicles was understood through the Centaure manufacturing.
  • As TERLS became operational through American Nike Apache rocket, a rocket range at Svalbard in Norway was declared operational by launching the Rohini rocket, RH-300 MkII on 20 November 1997.
  • Our beloved ex-president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was involved in the SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicle) project. He was the project lead for the fourth stage. The then President of CNES, France, Hubert Curien came to visit them and later asked if India could deliver the fourth stage for France's Diamont Launch Vehicle project. But the Diamont project got cancelled.
    Though later India's first communication satellite APPLE used SLV-3 fourth stage as the apogee boost motor.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Satellite launched us!

There are some days which get etched in your memory. From a year earlier multiple memories were made and now a year hence here I am reliving and relishing the days.  I became a member of the Student Satellite Project in March 2016. But on this day I realised that I didn't just join a project, I joined a Family, I joined a Journey, I too have joined the Dream shared by hundreds. On 26th September 2016, Pratham - IIT Bombay's First Student Satellite was launched, taking along the dream of hundreds of students have worked in the team and making hundreds more to dream bigger.  Being a freshman in a room full of seniors having worked in the team, the excitement of the launch was high. But that was it we new team members were merely excited, the seniors, on the other hand, had a glow in their eyes. Their child whom they built was going to space. Their years of hard work and patience was finally paying off. When Pratham got separated from the PSLV and finally...
1 comment
Read more

A Year of Responsibility

A year has passed. A year has passed since we took responsibility. A year has passed since we were handed the baton to continue the work of our seniors. A year has passed since 26th March 2018. And we humans like to remember these anniversaries. We look back and analyse the past; listing the happy, sad, big, small, fond and haunting memories. So I am going down the memory lane to the year that passed since we became the Project Managers of the IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project. As quoted by Yash Sanghvi, our mentor, "Both Ranade and Anmol  have shown unquestionable dedication and commitment to the  project , excellent discipline and organizational skills, required foresight, very good interpersonal skills, and proactive efforts towards enhancing team bonding." All these traits though possessed by us at that point or not, have been tested a lot in the past year. There are times when you are happy with the team's progress. Times when you are frustrated with the cir...
3 comments
Read more

The Birthday Full of Surprises

Birthdays have different value for people. Some spend the weeks up to it planning the event. Some let it be one of 365 normal days of the year. A friend of mine once said, 'The day I was born for is more important than the day I am born on'. Though I cherish the thought, for me Birthday holds a special place in the calendar. This 21st year revolving around the sun has been an eventful one and to end it all the Birthday was full of surprise gifts and awesome wishes. From taking the lead of the Satellite team to meeting PM Modi on the career front. Making new friends in the juniors and getting stronger binds with the older friends on the emotional front. The year had its shares of ups and downs and looking back the ups seems to be much higher. The gifts and wishes received on this Birthday will hold a special place in my heart. Thanking some of the special ones here: The Potterhead Friend: This was the most unexpected gift. Two Harry Potter shirts from the Po...
2 comments
Read more