Chennai: After beginning its space journey with a small rocket donated by the United States in 1963, ISRO is now set to launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite built by the US within the next couple of months, said ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan on Sunday. Speaking at an event near Chennai, Narayanan highlighted this milestone as a testament to India’s significant progress in space technology.
Narayanan, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Space, made the remarks after receiving an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan during the 21st Convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology at Kattankulathur.
Recalling the early days of ISRO, he said the space agency was established in 1963 when India was several years behind advanced countries. The same year, the US donated a small rocket that marked the beginning of India’s space programme on November 21, 1963. In 1975, using satellite data from the US, ISRO demonstrated mass communication by connecting 2,400 television sets across villages in six Indian states.
Narayanan described the July 30 launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite on the GSLV-F16 rocket as a historic moment. The NISAR, the most expensive satellite ever built, features an L-Band SAR payload from the US and an S-Band payload from ISRO, and was precisely placed into orbit by the Indian launcher. He noted that NASA officials praised ISRO for the precision of the launch.
Looking ahead, Narayanan said that in a few months, India will launch a large US-built 6,500 kg communication satellite on an Indian launcher from Indian soil—a remarkable achievement given the country’s modest beginnings.
Highlighting ISRO’s growth, he added that India has launched 433 satellites for 34 countries using its own launch vehicles, underscoring the country’s rise to join the ranks of advanced spacefaring nations.
With PTI inputs