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ISRO ○˒｜Definition｜1st｜20260906193410-00-⌔
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO/ˈɪsroʊ/)1 is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also working as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communications and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.
Formerly, ISRO was known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which was set up in 1962 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the recommendation of scientist Vikram Sarabhai.2 It was renamed as ISRO in 1969 and was subsumed into the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).34 In 1972, the Government set up a space commission and the DoS bringing ISRO under its purview. It has since then been managed by the DoS, which also governs various other institutions in the domain of astronomy and space technology.5678
ISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975.9 In 1980, it launched the satellite RS-1 on board the indigenously built launch vehicle SLV-3, making India the seventh country to undertake orbital launches. It has subsequently developed various small-lift and medium-lift launch vehicles, enabling the agency to launch various satellites and deep space missions. ISRO has full launch capabilities with the ability to deploy cryogenic engines, launch extraterrestrial missions and artificial satellites.101112 It is also the only one of the few governmental space agencies to have demonstrated unmanned landing capabilities.13141516
ISRO’s programmes have played a significant role in socio-economic development. It has supported both civilian and military domains in various aspects such as disaster management, telemedicine, navigation and reconnaissance. ISRO’s spin-off technologies are commercial products and services which have been developed with the help of ISRO.171819
Printed 2026-09-06.
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Link to original Footnotes
ISO 15919: Bhāratīya Antarikṣa Anusandhāna Saṅgaṭhana ↩
Sadeh 2013, pp. 303-. ↩
Courier, Madras (12 September 2024). “INCOSPAR, ISRO & India’s Spaceports | Madras Courier”. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“Indian Space Research Organisation”. www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“Department of Space and ISRO HQ – ISRO”. Indian Space Research Organisation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019. ↩
“Overview of the Indian Space Sector | Embassy of India, France & Principality of Monaco”. www.eoiparis.gov.in. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“History of Indian space research | Sankalp India Foundation”. www.sankalpindia.net. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
Bhargava & Chakrabarti 2003, pp. 39. ↩
“Aryabhata – ISRO”. Indian Space Research Organisation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018. ↩
CNSA (China), ESA (most of Europe), ISRO, (India), JAXA (Japan), NASA (United States) and Roscosmos (Russia) are the six space agencies with full launch capabilities. ↩
Pulakkat, Hari (9 January 2014). “How ISRO developed the indigenous cryogenic engine”. The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023. ↩
Harvey, Smid & Pirard 2011, pp. 144–. ↩
The Soviet Union (Interkosmos), The United States (NASA), China (CNSA), India (ISRO), and Japan (JAXA) are the five nations to have successfully achieved unmanned soft landing. ↩
Mashal, Mujib (24 August 2023). “India’s Moon Landing Offers Blueprint For Other Countries Dreaming Big”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023. ↩
“Countries that have Landed on the Moon 2026”. World Population Review. 24 April 2026. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“Every Mission to the Moon, Ever”. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“7 unlikely ISRO spinoff technologies | SpaceTech Asia”. SpaceTech Asia. 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
“ISRO forms new commercial arm to exploit technology, launch satellites”. The Hindu Business Line. 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023. ↩
“Technology Transfer”. www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 25 April 2026. ↩
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