Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is India's national space agency, established on August 15, 1969. It operates under the Department of Space, with its chairman also serving as the chief executive of the department, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of India. ISRO's vision is to harness space technology for national development and to pursue space science research and planetary exploration. The agency manages a constellation of communication and remote sensing satellites, and operates satellite navigation systems like GAGAN and IRNSS.

The organization's roots go back to 1962 with the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), a project championed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and scientist Vikram Sarabhai. ISRO was formed in 1969, superseding INCOSPAR with an expanded role. The Department of Space was established in 1972, bringing ISRO under its dedicated wing. This move allowed ISRO to grow and develop its own sophisticated launch vehicles, including the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which are used to place satellites into orbit. The agency has also undertaken ambitious deep space missions, sending probes to the Moon and Mars. [edit]