India's Space Programme: Launchers, Missions and Reforms

Origins and institutions

Early years:

• INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) was set up in 1962 under Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme.
• The first sounding rocket was launched from Thumba (near Thiruvananthapuram) in November 1963. Thumba lies near the magnetic equator, which made it ideal for upper atmosphere studies.
• ISRO was formed in 1969.
• The Department of Space and the Space Commission were created in 1972.

Philosophy: Sarabhai argued that space technology should serve national development: communication, weather forecasting, resource mapping and education. It was not meant as a prestige race.

Milestones:

• Aryabhata (1975): first satellite, launched by a Soviet rocket.
• SLV-3 (1980): first indigenous launch, which put Rohini in orbit. Project director: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
• Rakesh Sharma (1984): first Indian in space, on a Soviet mission.
• INSAT (1983 onward): communication and meteorology.
• IRS-1A (1988): remote sensing.

Launch vehicles

PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle):

• a four-stage rocket with alternating solid and liquid stages;
• carries about 1,750 kg to sun-synchronous polar orbit;
• India's "workhorse", with over 60 flights;
• launched Chandrayaan-1 (2008) and Mangalyaan (2013);
• set a world record by placing 104 satellites in one launch (February 2017).

GSLV: three stages, including an indigenous cryogenic upper stage (liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen), first flown successfully in 2014. It carries about 2,250 kg to GTO.

• India developed cryogenic technology on its own after US pressure (1992–93) under the MTCR stopped Russia from transferring it.

LVM3 (GSLV Mk III):

• India's heaviest launcher, about 4,000 kg to GTO and about 8,000 kg to LEO;
• launched Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3;
• carried OneWeb satellites commercially (2022–23);
• human-rated for Gaganyaan.

SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle): for satellites up to 500 kg, with quick turnaround. After a failure in 2022, it succeeded in 2023 and 2024. Its technology was transferred to HAL in 2025.

Reusable technology: the RLV-TD autonomous landing experiments (Pushpak, 2023–24).

Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV): approved in 2024, with a partly reusable first stage.

Spaceports:

• Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh);
• a second spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam (Tamil Nadu) for SSLV, under construction since 2024.

Satellite systems

• Communication: INSAT/GSAT. GSAT-20 (GSAT-N2) was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in November 2024, through NSIL.
• Earth observation:
• Resourcesat, Cartosat (high-resolution mapping);
• RISAT and EOS (radar imaging, all-weather);
• Oceansat.
• Navigation: NavIC (IRNSS), a regional system of 7 satellites covering India and about 1,500 km around it. Some satellites have failed atomic clocks. The NVS series (second generation) began with NVS-01 (2023). NVS-02 (January 2025) was launched on the 100th launch from Sriharikota, but did not reach its intended orbit because of a valve problem.
• Meteorology: INSAT-3D/3DR/3DS (3DS in 2024).
• NISAR: the NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, launched on a GSLV in July 2025. It is a dual-frequency (L- and S-band) Earth observation satellite.

Space science and exploration

Moon:

• Chandrayaan-1 (2008): the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (NASA) helped confirm water molecules on the lunar surface.
• Chandrayaan-2 (2019): the orbiter worked, but the lander Vikram crash-landed.
• Chandrayaan-3 (landed 23 August 2023): India became the first country to land near the lunar south pole and the fourth to soft-land on the Moon. The landing site is named Shiv Shakti point, and 23 August is National Space Day. The rover Pragyan confirmed sulphur in the soil.
• Chandrayaan-4 (sample return) and Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX (with Japan) are planned.

Mars: Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), launched in November 2013 and reaching Mars in September 2014. India was the first Asian country to reach Mars orbit and the first in the world to do so on its first attempt. The mission was very low-cost.

Sun: Aditya-L1, launched in September 2023, was placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point L1 (about 1.5 million km from Earth) in January 2024. It studies the solar corona and solar wind.

Astronomy: AstroSat (2015), India's first multi-wavelength space observatory. XPoSat (January 2024) studies X-ray polarisation.

Venus: the Venus Orbiter Mission was approved in 2024.

Human spaceflight:

• Gaganyaan, with uncrewed test flights planned before the crewed mission;
• the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035;
• an Indian on the Moon by 2040;
• Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla flew to the International Space Station on Axiom-4 in June–July 2025, the first Indian on the ISS.

SPADEX (December 2024–January 2025): India achieved space docking, becoming the fourth country to do so. Docking is needed for the space station and Chandrayaan-4.

Space sector reforms

The 2020 reforms opened space to private industry:

• IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, 2020) is the single-window regulator that authorises and promotes private space activities;
• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL, 2019) is ISRO's commercial arm, running demand-driven missions;
• the Indian Space Policy 2023 defines the roles of ISRO (research and development), NSIL, IN-SPACe and private firms;
• FDI liberalisation (2024): up to 100% in satellite components, 74% automatic for satellite manufacturing and operation, and 49% automatic for launch vehicles;
• a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund for space startups (2024).

Private milestones:

• Skyroot's Vikram-S: the first private rocket launch, in November 2022;
• Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD: the world's first launch with a single-piece 3D-printed engine (May 2024), from India's first private launch pad.

Space law: a Space Activities Bill has long been pending.

International cooperation:

• the Artemis Accords, signed by India in June 2023;
• the NISAR mission;
• the SAARC/South Asia Satellite (2017).

Space security: India showed anti-satellite (ASAT) capability in Mission Shakti (March 2019) and set up the Defence Space Agency (2019).

Analysis

India's space programme stands out for cost-effectiveness and a development focus. Its satellites serve:

• fisheries (Potential Fishing Zone advisories);
• agriculture (crop forecasting under FASAL);
• disaster management (cyclone tracking);
• governance (Bhuvan geoportal, PM Gati Shakti layers);
• navigation.

The challenge now is scale. India's share of the global space economy is about 2%, and the target is about 8–10% (a $44 billion space economy by 2033).

What it requires:

• private launch and satellite manufacturing;
• clear regulation and liability frameworks;
• reliable NavIC;
• strategic capabilities.

Common prelims traps

• Thumba was chosen because it lies near the magnetic equator.
• PSLV has four stages (solid–liquid alternating). GSLV uses a cryogenic upper stage.
• Aditya-L1 orbits L1, not the Sun directly.
• NavIC is regional, not global, and has 7 satellites.

Quick self-test

1. *Which mission made India the first to land near the lunar south pole?* Chandrayaan-3 (August 2023).
2. *What does IN-SPACe do?* Authorises and promotes private space activities.
3. *What did SPADEX demonstrate?* Docking of two satellites in orbit.

Practice: Mains question

*"Opening the space sector to private players is necessary for India to become a global space power." Discuss with reference to the 2020 reforms and the Indian Space Policy 2023. (250 words)*