The Indian Space Research Organisation is the national space agency of India. It operates as the primary research and development arm of 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 operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. ISRO is one of the six government space agencies in the world that possesses full launch capabilities, can deploy cryogenic engines, can launch extraterrestrial missions and operate a large fleet of artificial satellites. ISRO is one of the four government space agencies to have soft landing (uncrewed) capabilities.
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai Jain was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Trivandrum, in the Indian state of Kerala.
Udupi Ramachandra Rao was an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and Nehru Planetarium at Bengaluru and chancellor of the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram. He is known as "The Satellite Man of India". He pioneered India's first satellite launch Aryabhata in 1975.
The Department of Space (DoS) is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space programme. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space programme under the DoS aims to promote the development and application of space science and technology for the socio-economic benefit of the country. It includes two major satellite systems, INSAT for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services, and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) system for resources monitoring and management. It has also developed two satellite launch vehicles Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to place IRS and INSAT class satellites in orbit.
The Sarabhai family was a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch, Ambalal Sarabhai, was a leading industrialist. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavours, and the family is better known for those activities, rather than for industrial enterprise, which is now all but defunct.
Ahmedabad had a literacy rate of 79.89% in 2001 which rose to 89.62 percent in 2011. Out of this, male and female literacy are 93.96 and 84.81 percent respectively, as of 2011 census.
Koodli Nanjunda Ghanapathi Shankara was a space scientist from India. He was the Director of ISRO's Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad and ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore. He was the Director of Satellite Communications Program Office and Program Director, INSAT, and was looking after overall planning and direction of communication satellite program. His work in the field of transponder design and development led to a boost in India's communication satellite technology.
Prem Chand Pandey is an Indian space scientist, planetary scientist, and academic in the fields of satellite oceanography, remote sensing, atmospheric science, the Antarctic and climate change, and also he is the founding director of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
George Joseph is an Indian space scientist, best known for his contributions to the development of remote sensing technology in India, especially in the field of Earth observation sensors. He is a former chairman of the Lunar Mission Study Task Force of the Indian Space Research Organization and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian National Academy of Engineering. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1999.
Kankar Shubra Dasgupta is an Indian scientist and academic who works in the field of image processing and satellite communications (SATCOM). He is serving as the Director of Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Prior to joining DA-IICT, he served as the Director of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. Dasgupta also served as the Deputy Director, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad and the Director of the Development and Educational Communication Unit of Indian Space Research Organisation.
Praful D. Bhavsar was an Indian space scientist who held several major positions in the Indian Space program including the Project Scientist for the first rocket launch into space from Indian soil on 21 November 1963. In 1986, he retired from the position of Director, Space Applications Centre of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Director, Indian Remote Sensing Satellite Utilization Program.
INSAT-1C was the third in the first generation INSAT series of satellites built by Ford Aerospace to satisfy the domestic communication requirement of India. The Govt. agencies using its services were All India Radio, Doordarshan, Department of Space and Indian Meteorological Department
M.Y.S. Prasad is an Indian scientist and the former director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota Range (SDSC-SHAR). Govt. of India’s Civilian Award Padma Shri for the year 2014 for his distinguished service in Science and Technology.
Tapan Misra is an Indian scientist who has been the Director of Space Applications Centre and Physical Research Laboratory in ISRO. He later became Senior Advisor to the Chairman, ISRO.
Nilamber Pant is an Indian space scientist, a former member of the Space Commission of India and a pioneer of satellite based communication and broadcasting in India. He served at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and the ISRO Satellite Centre before becoming the vice chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1984.
RESPOND is a sponsored research program of Indian Space Research Organization. ISRO started the RESPOND programme in the 1970s whose main objective is to establish strong links with Universities/Institutions in the country to carry out quality research and developmental projects which are of relevance to space and derive useful outputs of such R&D to support ISRO programmes. The programme provides opportunity to the non-ISRO scientists and engineers, who are working with the recognized institute, to contribute to the Indian space programme. The contribution is mostly in areas of design and development of orbiting satellites for scientific research and space applications, sounding rockets and satellite launch vehicles. Non-academic R & D institutions can also participate in this programme.
Vinay Kumar Dadhwal is an Indian scientist and academic who primarily works in the field of remote sensing. He is known for his contribution to the development of remote sensing applications in agriculture, including crop forecasting and irrigation management. He served as the Director of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. Dadhwal also served as the Director, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and the Dean, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, a unit under Department of Space.
There are several Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facilities all over India. ISRO headquarters in Bangalore provides overall direction for the organization. There are more than twenty facilities which support ISRO.
Nilesh M. Desai is an Indian engineer and a space scientist known for his contributions to the field of space technology and applications. His contributions span multiple ambitious Indian space programs, notably in developing microwave radar satellites, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (Navic), Quantum Key Distribution, and spearheading the third Indian lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3. He assumed the directorship of the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, on 1 January 2021.
