BharatNotes Static GK
ISRO & India's Space Missions
Launch vehicles · Chandrayaan · Mangalyaan · Aditya-L1 · SpaDeX · NISAR · Gaganyaan · NavIC. Updated to May 2026.
Quick facts: ISRO founded 15 August 1969; predecessor INCOSPAR (1962); HQ Bengaluru. Parent: Department of Space (DoS) — under PM directly (NOT under DST). First chairman: Vikram Sarabhai. Current chairman: Dr. V. Narayanan (assumed 13 January 2025). India is the 4th country to soft-land on the Moon (Chandrayaan-3, 23 August 2023) and 4th country to demonstrate space docking (SpaDeX, 16 January 2025).
🛰️ ISRO — Key Dates & Structure
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 15 August 1969 |
| Predecessor | INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) — 1962, under Vikram Sarabhai |
| HQ | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Parent body | Department of Space (DoS) — directly under the Prime Minister. NOT under Ministry of Science & Technology or DST. |
| First chairman | Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (1963–1971) |
| Current chairman | Dr. V. Narayanan (assumed charge 13 January 2025, succeeded Dr. S. Somanath) |
| Commercial arm | NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) — PSU under DoS for commercial space activities |
| Regulatory body | IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) — authorises and promotes private sector space activities |
| Space policy | Indian Space Policy 2023 — issued April 2023; formalises role of private sector in space |
🚀 Launch Vehicles
| Vehicle | Full Name | First Launch | Status | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLV | Satellite Launch Vehicle | 10 Aug 1979 (failed); success: 18 Jul 1980 | Retired | First successful launch placed Rohini RS-1 in orbit (1980). India's first indigenous orbital launch vehicle. Designed by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. |
| ASLV | Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle | 1987 | Retired | 4 launches (1987–1994); only ASLV-D4 (May 1994) fully successful. Retired after 4th flight. |
| PSLV | Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle | 20 Sep 1993 (failed); success: 15 Oct 1994 | Operational (workhorse) | 64 launches through 12 Jan 2026 (~92% success rate; 59 full successes, 4 failures, 1 partial). Launched Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan, Aditya-L1, AstroSat. Held world record: 104 satellites in one mission (PSLV-C37, 15 Feb 2017) — broken by SpaceX Transporter-1 (143 sats) on 24 Jan 2021. Two consecutive failures: PSLV-C61/EOS-09 (18 May 2025) — Stage 3 pressure drop; PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 (12 Jan 2026) — Stage 3 roll-rate anomaly. |
| GSLV Mk I/II | Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle | 18 Apr 2001 (Mk I) | Operational (Mk II) | Mk I used Russian KVD-1 cryogenic stage. Russia backed out of tech transfer (1992) under US/MTCR pressure → India developed indigenous cryogenic engine (CE-7.5) for Mk II. Capacity: ~2,500 kg to GTO. |
| LVM3 (GSLV Mk III) | Launch Vehicle Mark-3 | Dec 2014 (experimental); Jun 2017 (operational) | Operational (heavy-lift) | India's heaviest rocket — 4,000 kg to GTO. Indigenous CE-20 cryogenic upper stage. Launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, OneWeb commercial missions. |
| SSLV | Small Satellite Launch Vehicle | 7 Aug 2022 (failed); success: 10 Feb 2023 (SSLV-D2) | Operational (small sats) | Designed for quick turnaround (72 hours assembly vs months for PSLV). Payload: ~500 kg to LEO. Targets commercial small-satellite market. |
🌙 Major Missions — Chronological
| Mission | Date | Launched by | Key Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aryabhata | 19 April 1975 | Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket | India's first satellite. Named after the 5th-century mathematician-astronomer. Launched from Kapustin Yar, USSR. |
| APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment) | 19 June 1981 | ESA Ariane-1 (French Guiana) | India's first experimental geostationary communication satellite. Successfully tested India's ability to build and operate GEO comsat. |
| INSAT-1B | 30 August 1983 | US Delta rocket | First operational satellite of the INSAT series (INSAT-1A had failed in 1983). Revolutionised Indian telecommunications and meteorology. |
| IRS-1A | 17 March 1988 | Soviet rocket (Baikonur) | India's first remote sensing satellite. Predecessor to today's EOS series. |
| Chandrayaan-1 | 22 October 2008 | PSLV-C11 | India's first lunar mission. Discovered water molecules on Moon via Moon Mineralogy Mapper (NASA M3) and CHACE spectrometer on Moon Impact Probe (MIP). MIP crash-landed at Jawahar Point. Contact lost Aug 2009 (all mission objectives met). |
| ASTROSAT | 28 September 2015 | PSLV-C30 | India's first multi-wavelength space observatory. Studies universe in UV, optical, soft and hard X-ray bands simultaneously. |
| Chandrayaan-2 | 22 July 2019 | GSLV Mk III-M1 | Orbiter (still operational), Vikram lander (crashed 6 September 2019 due to software error), Pragyan rover. Orbiter has 8 payloads; continues remote sensing of Moon. |
| Chandrayaan-3 | 14 July 2023 (launch) | LVM3-M4 | India's first successful soft landing on Moon. Landed 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST at Statio Shiv Shakti (69.37°S, 32.32°E) — near Moon's south pole. India = 4th nation to soft-land (after USSR, USA, China). Pragyan rover operated for 14 Earth days. Landing site officially named by IAU. |
| Aditya-L1 | 2 September 2023 (launch) | PSLV-C57 | India's first solar mission. Reached L1 halo orbit on 6 January 2024. 7 payloads to study solar corona, solar wind, flares. L1 = first Lagrange point (~1.5 million km from Earth) — provides uninterrupted view of Sun. |
| XPoSat | 1 January 2024 | PSLV-C58 | India's first X-ray polarimetry mission (only second globally after NASA's IXPE). Studies polarisation of cosmic X-ray sources — black holes, neutron stars, pulsars. |
| SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) | 30 December 2024 (launch) | PSLV-C60 | India's first space docking mission. First docking achieved 16 January 2025 — India = 4th country to demonstrate space docking (after USA, USSR, China). Undocking: 13 March 2025. 2nd docking + power transfer: 20–21 April 2025. Technology essential for Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station. |
| NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) | 30 July 2025 | GSLV-F16 | World's first dual-frequency (L-band + S-band) SAR Earth-observation satellite; joint NASA-ISRO mission (~USD 1.5 bn — most expensive Earth-observation satellite). Studies earthquakes, landslides, glaciers, forests, agriculture; revisits all land/ice every 12 days. |
🔴 Mangalyaan — Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launch | 5 November 2013 (PSLV-C25) |
| Mars orbit insertion | 24 September 2014 |
| Cost | ~₹454 crore (~USD 74 million) — cheapest interplanetary mission in history at the time |
| Significance | First Asian nation to reach Mars orbit. India was the first nation to succeed in its maiden attempt to Mars. (USSR, USA, and Europe all failed their first attempts.) |
| Mission end | Lost communication: September 2022 (battery depletion — no longer able to withstand prolonged eclipse periods) |
| Payloads | 5 science instruments — Methane Sensor (MSM), Mars Colour Camera (MCC), Thermal Infrared Imaging (TIS), Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) |
👨🚀 Gaganyaan — India's Human Spaceflight Programme
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Programme announced | Independence Day 2018 (PM Modi's announcement) |
| Launch vehicle | LVM3 (GSLV Mk III) |
| TV-D1 (abort test) | 21 October 2023 — Crew Escape System test at Mach 1.2, ~11.7 km altitude; successful |
| Selected astronauts (4) | IAF pilots: Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, Shubhanshu Shukla (trained at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Russia) |
| Shubhanshu Shukla — ISS mission | Selected for Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax-4) to ISS; launched 25 June 2025 — first Indian to visit ISS (returned 15 July 2025) |
| Uncrewed flight (G1) | Targeted H2 2026 (delayed from earlier 2025 target; carries Vyommitra humanoid robot) |
| Crewed flight | Now targeted 2027 (revised from earlier 2024/2025 targets) |
| Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) | India's planned space station — first module targeted 2028; operational by 2035 |
First Indian in space: Rakesh Sharma — aboard Soviet Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984. When PM Indira Gandhi asked how India looked from space, he replied "Saare Jahan Se Achha" (from Iqbal's poem). He was an IAF pilot, not an ISRO astronaut — the mission was a Soviet-Indian joint mission.
🧭 NavIC — India's Navigation System
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC); also called IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) |
| Designed constellation | 7 satellites (3 geostationary / GEO + 4 geosynchronous / GSO) |
| Total launched (programme) | 11 satellites: IRNSS-1A to 1I + NVS-01 + NVS-02 (NVS-02 failed to reach intended orbit, Feb 2025) |
| Operational (PNT service) as of March 2026 | Only 3 satellites (IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I, NVS-01) providing Position-Navigation-Timing service after IRNSS-1F atomic-clock failure (March 2026); below the 4-satellite minimum for reliable regional fix. Five other satellites (1A, 1C, 1E, 1F, 1G) are limited to one-way broadcast messaging. NVS-03/04/05 launches scheduled by Sep 2027 to restore full constellation. |
| Coverage | India and ~1,500 km beyond borders (regional navigation, unlike global systems GPS/GLONASS) |
| Accuracy | <20 m for standard users; <10 m for restricted service users |
| Services | Standard Positioning Service (SPS — civilian); Restricted Service (RS — encrypted, for defence) |
🌕 Nations that Soft-Landed on the Moon (as of April 2026)
| # | Country | First Soft Landing | Mission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USSR | February 1966 | Luna 9 |
| 2 | USA | June 1966 | Surveyor 1 |
| 3 | China | December 2013 | Chang'e 3 / Yutu rover |
| 4 | India | 23 August 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 / Vikram lander |
| 5 | Japan | January 2024 | SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) |
⚠️ Exam Traps
| Trap | Correct Answer |
|---|---|
| ISRO is under DST (Dept. of Science & Technology)? | No. ISRO is under the Department of Space (DoS), which is directly under the Prime Minister. DoS is separate from DST (which is under the Ministry of Science & Technology). |
| When exactly did Chandrayaan-3 land? | 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST. The landing site is officially named Statio Shiv Shakti (IAU-approved). Located at 69.37°S, 32.32°E — near (but NOT at) the geographic south pole. |
| India was the first to land near the south pole of the Moon? | Contextually correct but nuanced. Chandrayaan-3 landed at ~69°S — the highest southern latitude ever for a lunar landing. It is near the south polar region but NOT at the geographic south pole (90°S). |
| India was the first country to reach Mars orbit? | No. USA, USSR, and ESA all reached Mars before India. India was the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit and the first country to succeed on its maiden attempt. |
| SpaDeX made India the 3rd country to dock in space? | No — 4th. Docking sequence: USA, USSR, China, then India (16 January 2025). |
| Chandrayaan-1 confirmed water on the Moon? | Yes, but note: the discovery was via the NASA M3 (Moon Mineralogy Mapper) instrument on board, and ISRO's own CHACE spectrometer on the Moon Impact Probe. Both Indian and NASA instruments contributed. |
| How many satellites does NavIC have — 7 or 9? | Designed for 7 (3 GEO + 4 GSO). 11 launched in the programme (IRNSS-1A to 1I + NVS-01 + NVS-02; NVS-02 failed orbit Feb 2025). As of March 2026 only 3 satellites (IRNSS-1B, 1I, NVS-01) provide full PNT service after IRNSS-1F clock failure — below the 4-satellite minimum. Distinguish "designed constellation" (7) from "total launched" (11) from "currently operational PNT" (3). |
| Aryabhata was launched by ISRO/PSLV? | No. Aryabhata (1975) was launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket — India did not yet have its own orbital launch vehicle. PSLV's first successful launch was in 1994. |
| Rakesh Sharma was an ISRO astronaut? | No. Rakesh Sharma was an IAF pilot who flew on a Soviet Soyuz T-11 (3 April 1984) as part of a Soviet-Indian joint mission. He was not an ISRO-trained astronaut. |
| Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from L1 point — how far is that? | L1 (first Lagrange point) is approximately 1.5 million km from Earth (~1% of Earth-Sun distance). It provides a continuous, unobstructed view of the Sun. Aditya-L1 inserted into L1 halo orbit on 6 January 2024. |
| Was Mangalyaan (MOM) India's first interplanetary mission? | Yes. Chandrayaan-1 was a lunar (not interplanetary) mission. Mangalyaan was India's first interplanetary mission, launched November 2013, arrived Mars September 2014. |
| What is the difference between GSLV Mk III and LVM3? | Same rocket, different name. GSLV Mk III was renamed LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) in 2022. The renaming reflects that it is a new class, not a variant of GSLV Mk I/II. |
