Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that India had gained the capability to shoot down low-earth orbit satellite.
The joint mission by ISRO (established 1969) and DRDO (established 1958) is the latest in a series of historical achievements.
With the announcement of this new era in space defence, we follow India’s rising trajectory in space exploration throughout the past. Here is a list of some of India’s successes in the field:
- India’s space activities were first institutionalised under Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) established in 1962, under Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO), established in 1969, launched India’s first satellite Aryabhatta in 1975.
- In 1980 Rohini became the first Indian satellite to be launched from an indigenous launch vehicle.
- On 2nd April, 1984 Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to visit space using the Soviet-made rocket Soyuz T-11.
- In October 2008 Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe, is launched into space.
- ASTROSAT was launched on 28 September 2015. It enabled multi-wavelength observations of celestial bodies.
- The South Asia Satellite was launched on 5 May 2017. It was developed by ISRO for South Asian Nations.
- In April 2012, VK Saraswat of the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced the development of Agni-V, an intercontinental ballistic missile with an anti-satellite(ASAT) capability.
