Invincible ISRO

"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."-Dr.Vikram Sarabhai.
A church in a Trivandrum was doing some unusual job which other churches didn't even think of. There were no prayers to God. There was no priest in the church. But there were men of wisdom working for hours together. Yes! its the Thumba Space Station! This Church was the place which housed ISRO's space research initially. Sounding rockets were fired from this place to investigate the upper atmosphere. ISRO as an organization was established on August 15,1969 by one of the greatest souls- Dr.Vikram Sarabhai who is also known as the Father of Indian Space Technology. But the base to all these were laid by the great Dr.Homi Bhabha, the first Chairman of Department of Atomic Energy. Intensive research by some dedicated young men led to the development of SLV, ASLV and later the PSLV and GSLV. In the early years bullock carts and cycles were used to carry satellites and launch vehicle parts to the launch pad. PSLV is used to carry a payload of upto 1600kg. PSLV allowed India to launch IRS satellites into sun synchronous orbit. Before the advent of PSLV, the option of placing satellites in SSO was available only with the Russians. PSLV also has an impressive success record. It recently placed 10 satellites in a single launch. The record was previously held by the Russians. India successfully tested its nuclear capability in 1974 after which the world countries imposed sanctions on India. But a relentless India continued its indigenous research and successfully tested its Cryogenic Engine- which is essential for GSLV. GSLV is used to place heavier communication satellites(2500kg). Currently GSLV III is under development which will enable ISRO lift much heavier satellites. A modified version of PSLV took India into the select league of nations which have entered lunar orbit. India became the 4th country after US, Russia, Japan to place its flag on the Lunar surface. Now Chandrayaan II is under development. To add feather to its cap, ISRO successfully showed to the world tht it can send humans to space and bring them safely back to earth. SRE I or Space capsule Recovery Experiment successfully splashed down in the Bay of Bengal after being in space for 12 days. ISRO is now constructing its own astronaut training facility in Bangalore. With two launch pads already in operation, a third one is now under construction. India intends to send probes to Mars using its GSLV III. ISRO's ground tracking stations are situated in many parts of India and in Mauritius, Russia and Indonesia. Recently ISRO tested world's third largest rocket motor, S-200 from its testing center in Sriharikota. ISRO also has set up its own university, IIST in Trivandrum. Antrix Corporation is ISRO's marketing agency. India is making steady progress in almost all fields and ISRO is leading India in the field of space technology. But its a fact tht ISRO has a long way to go. Itseems tht the launch pads in Sriharikota failed and tht this delayed the launch of GSLV II which was scheduled for December 2009. This GSLV also was supposed to use the indigenously made cryogenic engine for the first time. Without much support from developed countries ISRO is able to make wonders. So lets all salute ISRO and its efficient scientists who are making India proud in every possible way.