April 19 is a special day in Indian satellite history. On this day in 1975, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the first Indian-made satellite into space. It was named after the ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer, Aryabhata. In 1975, India built the satellite, but did not have the capability to launch it into space. So ISRO used the Soviet Union's Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. In 2018, India has reached a record of launching over 100 satellites at the same time. ISRO has also sent spacecraft missions to the Moon and Mars.
Today, ISRO is praised for its exceptional work and India is thought of as one of the best in the world in space exploration. It is interesting to see how the story began 43 years ago.
Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme, asked one of his scientists U.R. Rao to make an indigenously-built satellite. Why Rao? Because Rao was the only Indian who had worked on two NASA satellite projects. The launch of Aryabhata came 18 years after the world's first satellite, Sputnik I, was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.
Aryabhata was launched from Kapustin Yar in the then Soviet Union by a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It weighed 360 kilograms. This launch mission was part of an agreement between India and the Soviet Union signed in 1972 under which New Delhi would allow the USSR to use Indian ports for tracking ships, if it would launch Indian satellites.
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was given three options to choose from as the name of India's first satellite. They were Maitri (friendship), Jawahar (Jawaharlal Nehru) and Aryabhata. She chose to name it after mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata.
Aryabhata was designed to study earth's ionosphere, X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The project cost was Rs. 3.5 crores and it took 30 months to complete.
Aryabhata operated only for 5 days before losing all communication due to failure in its electrical power system.
Aryabhata re-entered the earth’s atmosphere 17 years later on February 10, 1992. Aryabhata may not have been a complete success, but the project opened new possibilities for ISRO which runs one of the most cost-effective space programmes in the world.
India has gone a long way in satellite technology since those days. ISRO has made great strides in improving its technology. Our space scientists have improved life for the common people by launching satellites for better communication, GPS, weather forecast and mapping coastal and mining areas. All this information which is fast and accurate helps India develop its economy.
The historic event of Aryabhata’s launch was celebrated by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI commemorated the launch by adding the satellite’s picture to the Rs 2 currency note in the years between 1976 and 1997.
