ISRO's major missions, from Aryabhata to Aditya-L1
Aryabhata, SLV-3, Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan, 104 satellites at once, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 and SpaDeX — ISRO's landmark missions and why they matter.
Rohit Tandon · 17 October 2026 · 4 min read
There was a time when parts of India's rockets were carried to the launch pad on a bicycle — and today India has landed near the Moon's south pole. The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, made that journey. Here are ISRO's major missions year by year, with what made each of them special.
How ISRO began
In 1962 the "Indian National Committee for Space Research" (INCOSPAR) was set up under Dr Vikram Sarabhai. On 21 November 1963 India's first sounding rocket was launched from Thumba in Kerala. On 15 August 1969 ISRO took the committee's place, and the Department of Space was set up in 1972. Vikram Sarabhai is called the "father of the Indian space programme". ISRO's headquarters are in Bengaluru, and most big launches take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
ISRO's major missions, year by year
| Year | Mission | Why it stands out |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Aryabhata | India's first satellite (sent up on a Soviet rocket) |
| 1980 | SLV-3 / Rohini | The first satellite put into orbit by India's own rocket |
| 1994 | PSLV | The PSLV's first successful flight; it became ISRO's most reliable rocket |
| 2008 | Chandrayaan-1 | Played a big part in finding evidence of water molecules on the Moon |
| 2013–14 | Mangalyaan | Reached Mars orbit at the very first attempt |
| 2017 | PSLV-C37 | 104 satellites in a single flight |
| 2019 | Chandrayaan-2 | The orbiter succeeded; the lander crashed while landing |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 | The first craft to land near the Moon's south pole |
| 2023 | Aditya-L1 | India's first space observatory to study the Sun |
| 2025 | SpaDeX | Joined two satellites in space (docking); the fourth country to do it |
Read the full story of the first satellite in Aryabhata: India's first satellite. The project director of SLV-3 was Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who later became President of India.
Did you know? At Thumba, parts of the first rockets were brought in on bicycles and bullock carts, and the St Mary Magdalene church there was turned into an office and laboratory. The same building is a space museum today.
ISRO's chairmen
After Vikram Sarabhai, ISRO was led by a line of eminent scientists. Satish Dhawan (1972–84) gave the organisation a strong structure — the launch centre at Sriharikota is named after him today. After him came scientists such as U.R. Rao, K. Kasturirangan, G. Madhavan Nair, K. Radhakrishnan, A.S. Kiran Kumar, K. Sivan and S. Somanath. In January 2025 V. Narayanan took charge. Under each chairman ISRO took some new leap forward — from communication satellites to the Moon and Mars.
ISRO's rockets
- SLV and ASLV: the small early rockets with which ISRO learned to build launchers.
- PSLV: "ISRO's workhorse" — Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan and Aditya-L1 all flew on it.
- GSLV: the rocket with an Indian-made cryogenic engine, for heavy communication satellites.
- LVM3: ISRO's heaviest rocket — Chandrayaan-3 flew on it, and Gaganyaan will fly on its human-rated version.
- SSLV: a new rocket for sending small satellites up at lower cost and at short notice.
ISRO in our daily lives
ISRO's satellites are not only for science. INSAT and GSAT satellites bring us television broadcasts, weather forecasts and cyclone warnings. India's own navigation system, "NavIC", helps with finding the way. Remote-sensing satellites keep watch on crops, forests, floods and droughts, and they also tell fishermen where the fish are at sea. In 2025 "NISAR", an Earth-observation satellite built together with NASA, was also launched.
Key points
- ISRO was founded on 15 August 1969; its headquarters are in Bengaluru.
- Vikram Sarabhai is the father of the Indian space programme.
- India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched in 1975.
- PSLV-C37 sent 104 satellites up in one flight in 2017.
- Chandrayaan-3 is the first craft to land near the Moon's south pole.
Frequently asked questions
When was ISRO founded?
On 15 August 1969; before that, from 1962, INCOSPAR did this work.
Where are ISRO's rockets launched from?
Mostly from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
More articles: Science · Practise: Science questions.
Sources
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