ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation, commonly referred to as ISRO (ˈɪsroʊ), is the national space agency of India. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ISRO also acts as the executive of DOS. ISRO is primarily responsible for performing tasks related to space-based applications, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. It is one of the six government space agencies in the world which possess full launch capabilities, deploy cryogenic engines, launch extraterrestrial missions and operates a large fleet of artificial satellites. ISRO was previously The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up by The Government of India in 1962, as envisioned by scientist Vikram Sarabhai, recognising the need for space research. INCOSPAR grew and became ISRO in 1969, within DAE. In 1972, the government of India set up a Space Commission and DOS, bringing ISRO under it. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalised space research activities in India. It since then has been managed by DOS, which governs various other institutions in India in the domain of astronomy and space technology. ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975. In 1980, ISRO launched satellite RS-1 onboard SLV-3, making India the seventh country to be capable of undertaking orbital launches. SLV-3 was followed by ASLV, which was subsequently succeeded by the development of many medium-lift launch vehicles, rocket engines, satellite systems and networks enabling the agency to launch hundreds of domestic and foreign satellites and various deep space missions for space exploration. ISRO has the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and operates the GAGAN and IRNSS (NavIC) satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one to Mars.