Here is a timeline of the five decades of India’s space programme:
1962 – Indian National Committee for Space Research set up by the Department of Atomic Energy. Work starts on Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in Kerala.
1963 – First sounding rocket launched from TERLS Nov 21.
1965 – Space Science and Technology Centre set up in Thumba.
1968 – Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station set up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
1969 – Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed Aug 15 under the Department of Atomic Energy.
1971 – Satish Dhawan Space Centre (formerly SHAR Centre) formed in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
1972 – Department of Space (DoS) established and ISRO brought under it. ISRO Satellite Centre set up in Bangalore and Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad.
1975 – Satellite Instructional Television Experiment using an US satellite. First Indian satellite, Aryabhata, launched into space April 19.
1977 – Satellite Telecommuncation Experiments Project (1977-79) using Franco-German Symphonie Satellite.
1979 – Bhaskara-1, an earth observation experimental satellite, launched. First experimental launch of Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) carrying the Rohini satellite. The satellite not placed in the orbit.
1980 – Second experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini. Mission successful.
1981 – First developmental launch of SLV-3. Rohini placed into orbit. Launch of APPLE, an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite. Launch of Bhaskara-2 by an USSR rocket.
1982 – Launch of Insat-1A communication satellite by an US rocket.
1983 – Second developmental flight of SLV-3 placed Rohini into orbit. Insat system commissioned with launch to Insat-1B satellite.
1984 – First Indian cosmonaut, Rakesh Sharma, spends eight days in Russian space station Salyut 7. He flew in Russian rocket Soyuz T-11.
1987 – First development launch of Augmented SLV (ASLV) with satellite SROSS-1. Mission failed.
1988 – Launch of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite – IRA-1A through a Russian rocket. Second developmental flight of ASLV with SROSS satellite. Mission failed.
1991 – Launch of second operational remote sensing satellite IRS-1B.
1992 – First successful launch of ASLV placing SROSS-C satellite. Launch of Insat-2A, the first satellite of the indigenously-built second generation Insat series, followed by the 3 and 4 series.
1993 – First development flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with IRS-1E. Mission failed.
1994 – Fourth developmental flight of ASLV with SROSS-C2. Mission successful. Successful launch of PSLV placing IRS-P2 in orbit.
1996 – Third developmental flight of PSLV with IRS-P3.
1997 – First operational launch of PSLV carrying IRS-1D.
1999 – PSLV started carrying foreign payloads (Korean and German satellites) along with ISRO’s satellite Oceansat.
2001 – Successful launch of heavy rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with GSAT-1 satellite. Launch of PSLV with India’s Technology Experimental Satellite and satellites from Belgium and Germany.
2002 – Launch of Kalpana-1 satellite on-board a PSLV rocket.
2003 – Launch of GSat-2 on board GSLV and Resourcesat-1 by PSLV.
2004 – Launch of Edusat by GSLV’s first operational flight.
2005 – Commissioning of second launch pad at Sriharikota. Launch of Cartosat-1 and Hamsat by PSLV.
2006 – Second operational flight of GSLV with Insat-4C. For the first time, an Indian rocket carried a communication satellite. The mission failed.
2007 – Launch of Cartosat-2 with Space Capsule Recovery Experiment and two foreign satellites and successful recovery of the space capsule. Launch of Italian satellite AGILE by PSLV and Insat-4CR by GSLV.
2008 – Launch of Israeli satellite Tecsar by PSLV. Launch of two Indian and eight foreign satellites by a single PSLV. India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 by PSLV.
2009 – Launch of Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-2) and Anusat from Anna University (first satellite from an Indian university) by PSLV. Launch of seven satellites by PSLV, including India’s Oceansat.
2010 – Failure of two GSLV missions. Launch of Cartosat-2B, STUDSAT and three small foreign satellites by PSLV.
2011 – Launch of Resourcest-2 and two small satellites by PSLV. Launch of GSAT-12 by PSLV. Launch of Megha Tropiques and three small satellites by PSLV.
2012 – Launch of Risat-1 by PSLV. Launch of French satellite SPOT 6 and Japanese satellite Proiteres.
