Aryabhata, India’s first satellite — when, from where and how it was launched
Launched on 19 April 1975, Aryabhata was India’s first satellite. Who built it, which rocket carried it and why it was named after Aryabhata.
Rohit Tandon · 4 October 2026 · 3 min read
Today India has reached the Moon's south pole and put a spacecraft into Mars orbit on its very first attempt. But this long journey began in 1975 with one small satellite — Aryabhata. It was India's first satellite, designed and built entirely by Indian scientists.
Key facts at a glance
| Launch date | 19 April 1975 |
|---|---|
| Launched from | Kapustin Yar, in the then Soviet Union |
| Rocket | Soviet Kosmos-3M |
| Built by | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bengaluru |
| Weight | About 360 kilograms |
| Shape | A 26-sided polyhedron covered with solar cells |
| Name | In honour of Aryabhata, the great 5th-century mathematician and astronomer |
Why was Aryabhata built?
In the early 1970s India had neither the experience of building a satellite nor a rocket to send one into space. ISRO's aim was for Indian engineers first to learn how to build, test and operate a satellite in space. Under an agreement with the Soviet Union, India built the satellite and the Soviet Union put it into orbit with its own rocket. The satellite carried experiments in X-ray astronomy, solar physics and the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy).
The project was led by the well-known space scientist Prof. Udupi Ramachandra Rao. The satellite was built in a plain industrial building in Peenya, Bengaluru.
What happened in space?
Aryabhata reached orbit successfully, and India joined the countries with a satellite of their own in space. A few days later a fault in the power supply stopped its experiments, but by then ISRO had learned everything it was sent to learn — designing and testing a satellite, controlling it from the ground and receiving its data. Aryabhata kept circling the Earth for about 17 years and burned up on re-entering the atmosphere on 10 February 1992.
Did you know? The ₹2 note printed from 1976 to 1997 carried a picture of the Aryabhata satellite on its back.
After Aryabhata: India's early satellites
- Bhaskara-1 (1979): India's first experimental Earth-observation satellite.
- Rohini (1980): the first satellite placed in orbit by India's own rocket, the SLV-3 — the project director of this mission was Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
- APPLE (1981): India's first experimental communication satellite.
The story behind the name
Aryabhata (born 476 CE) explained in his work, the Aryabhatiya, that the Earth spins on its axis, and he gave a very accurate value of π (pi). By naming its first satellite after him, India linked its ancient scientific tradition with the modern space age.
To learn more, see the profile of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, or play the Class 5 solar system quiz.
Sources
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