Indian Space Research Organization
• Abbreviation- ISRO
• Formed- 15 August 1969; 53 years ago
• Preceding agency- Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)
• Type- Space agency
• Jurisdiction- Government of India
• Headquarters- Bangalore, India
• Chairman- Sreedhara Panicker Somanath
• Primary spaceports:
1. Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
2. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
3. Kulasekharapatnam SSLV Launching Station (planned), Kulasekharapatnam, Tamil Nadu.
• Owner- India
• Employees- 16,786 as of 2022
• Annual budget- ₹13,700 crore (US$1.7 billion) (2022–23)
• Website- www.isro.gov.in
About Isro
Indian Space Research Organization is the national space agency , with its headquarters in Bangalore. The principal organization in India for carrying out duties pertaining to space-based applications, space exploration, and the advancement of related technology.
The agency was founded in 1963, and since then, it has supported both civilian and military domains in a variety of areas, such as disaster management, telemedicine, navigation, and reconnaissance missions. Its programs and spinoff technologies have made a significant contribution to India's socioeconomic and industrial development. The Chairman of ISRO serves as the executive of the Department of Space (DOS), which is under the direct control of the Prime Minister of India.
One of only six government space agencies in the world with full launch capability, cryogenic engine deployment, extraterrestrial mission launching, and significant fleets of man-made satellite operations.
It runs the GAGAN and NAVIC satellite navigation systems and has the largest network of remote sensing satellites in the world. It has launched one mission to Mars and two to the Moon. The agency intends to take humans into space, grow its satellite fleet, conduct additional unmanned missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, and the Sun, create a semi-cryogenic engine, and send more space telescopes into orbit to monitor celestial phenomena and space outside the Solar System.
Long-term goals include the creation of reusable launchers, heavy and super heavy launch vehicles, the establishment of a space station, the dispatch of crewed missions to moons and planets, as well as exploratory trips to the outer planets and asteroids.
Before 2002, ISRO lacked an official emblem. The design chosen features an orange arrow pointing upwards, two blue satellite panels, and the word ISRO printed in two different fonts: orange colored Devanagari on the left and blue colored English in the Prakrta typeface on the right.
The DOS, which oversees ISRO and the following organizations and institutions, is under the authority of the Space Commission.
• Antrix Corporation, marketing arm of ISRO, Bengaluru.
• Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.
• National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki, Andhra Pradesh.
• Indian Space Research Organization
• Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, India’s space university.
• North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC), Umiam
• NewSpace India Limited, the commercial branch, Bengaluru
Research Facilities:
1.Space Center Vikram Sarabhai ,Thiruvananthapuram
The major technological centre, where the SLV-3, ASLV, and PSLV series are developed, also it’s the largest ISRO base.
The base aids the Rohini Sounding Rocket programme and TERLS.
The GSLV series is also being developed by it.
2. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram
The liquid propulsion control packages, liquid stages, and liquid engines for launch vehicles and satellites are designed, developed, tested, and put into use by the LPSC.
The IPRC in Mahendragiri is where much of the testing for these systems is done.
Precision transducers are also produced by the LPSC in Bangalore.
3. Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
Some of the fields of research at this institute include solar planetary physics, infrared astronomy, geo-cosmo physics, plasma physics, astrophysics, archaeology, and hydrology.
Furthermore, it runs the observatory in Udaipur.
4. National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Tirupati
The NARL conducts basic and applied research in the fields of atmospheric and space sciences.
5. Space Applications Center in Ahmedabad
The SAC addresses the different facets of space technology's actual utilisation.
Geodesy, satellite-based telecommunications, surveying, remote sensing, meteorology, environmental monitoring, etc. are some of the research areas at the SAC.
In addition to running regular SATCOM operations, the SAC also manages the Delhi Earth Station, which is based in Delhi and utilized to demonstrate various SATCOM experiments.
6. Shillong’s North-Eastern Space Applications Center
By working on specialized application projects using remote sensing, GIS, satellite communication, and doing space science research, providing developmental support to the North East.
Antrix Corporation Limited (Commercial Wing)
Antrix was established as the marketing division of ISRO, and its role is to advertise ISRO-developed goods, services, and technology.
India's Newspace Limited (Commercial Wing)
The foundation is laid for the commercialization of spin-off innovations, tech transfers through industrial interface, and escalating industry involvement in space programmes.
Space Technology Incubation Centre
In India's top technological Universities, ISRO has established Space Technology Incubation Centres (S-TIC), which will serve as incubators for businesses developing products and services that will be used on upcoming space missions. The S-TIC will unite the business world, academic institutions, and ISRO under one roof to support R&D projects important to the Indian Space Program.
Advance Space Research Group
In 2021, ISRO and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) implemented a joint working framework under which an Empowered Oversight Committee (EOC) under the Capacity Building Programme Office (CBPO) of ISRO, located in Bengaluru, will approve all short-, medium-, and long-term space research projects of shared interest.
This is similar to the NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), managed by California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In exchange, IIST will grant full access to ISRO facilities to an Advance Space Research Group (ASRG) organised there under the direction of the EOC. The main goal is to turn IIST into a world-class centre for space research and engineering by 2028–2030, so that it may take the helm of future ISRO space exploration missions.
Other Facilities Includes:
- Balasore Rocket Launching Station (BRLS), odisha.
- Gandhinagar's Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG).
- Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), Bengaluru.
- Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR).
-Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
- Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC)
-Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics' (IUCAA)
-Regional Remote Sensing Service Centers (RRSSC).
- National Deep Space Observation Center (NDSPO)
-ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) – Thiruvananthapuram.
- Master Control Facility (RRSSC).ETC.