May 2014

The Indian Space Program 3 - History 3

          In the early 1980s, India began work on the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV). The ASLV design was based on the Satellite Launch Vehicle used in the 1970s to launch Indian space missions. It consisted of five solid fuel rocket stages and was able to carry a three hundred and thirty pound satellite into a two hundred and fifty mile orbit. The ASLV was only used four times. The first launch was in 1987 and was successful.

The Indian Space Program 2 - History 2

        In 1975, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) built India's first satellite, Aryabhata which was launched by the Soviet Union. Aryabhata was a test project for India to gain experience in the construction and launching of satellites. It had an orbital period of about one hundred minutes and the orbit reached a maximum altitude of about three hundred and fifty miles. It's instrument package conducted experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics and solar physics.

The Indian Space Program 1 - History 1

         Atmospheric and space research in India began in the 1920s with ground based sounding of the ionosphere. Other researchers added to theoretical foundation of space science in the next two decades. In 1945, two scientists established research institutes, the Physical Research Laboratory and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which established an organized space research capability in India.

The International Space Station 1 - International Tensions and the ISS

           I have always been a fan of science fiction. This means that I have always been interested in space flight. Early on, man's moves into space were referred to as the Space Race. This highlighted the fact that there was an intertwining of national prestige, available funding, public appreciation, military capability, utility and the universal urge to explore new realms.