INDIANS IN SPACE

Major Achievements :
1962 : Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) formed by Department of Atomic Energy, and work on establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Trivendrum (now Thiruvanantpuram) began.
1963 : First Sounding Rocket Launched from TERLS on November 21.
1965 : Space Science and Technology Centre(SSTC) established in Thumba.
1967 : Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad.
1972 : Space Commission and Department of Space set up.
1975 : First Indian Satellite, Aryabhatta launched on April 19.
1979 : Bhaskara-l,an experimental satellite launched,First experimental launch of SLV-3 with rohini satellite on board failed.
1980 : Second experimental launch of SLV-3 Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit.
1981 : APPLE,an experimental geostationary communication satellite successfully launched on june 19.
1981 : Bhaskar-ll,launched on November 20.
1982 : INSAT-1A launched in April.
1983 : Second launch of SLV-3,RS-D2 placed in orbit,INSAT-lB launched.
1984 : Indo-Soviet manned space mission(April),Rakesh became first indian to reach space.
1987 : ASLV wit SROSS-1(Stretched Rohini Satellite) satellite on board launched.
1988 : First Indian Remote Sensing saellite,IRS-lA launched.INSAT-lC launched(July).
1990 : INSAT-lD launched successfully.
1991 : Launch of IRS-lD(August).
1992 : Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C on board (May),placed in orbit.
First indigenously built satellite INSAT-2A launched successfully.
1993 : INSAT-2B launched in July successfully.First developmental launch of PSLV(Polar Satellite Launching Vehicle) with IRS-lE on board fails.
1994 : Fourth developmental launch of ASLV successfully(May).Second developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P2 successful.(October).
1995 : INSAT-2C launched in December.Third operational IRS launched.
1996 : Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 successful(March).
1997 : INSAT-2D launched in June becomes inoperational in October.First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-lD successful(September).
1999 : INSAT-2E the last satellite in the INSAT-2 series launched by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana(April 3,1999).IRS-P4(OCEANSAT) launched by PSLV-C2 along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (26 May 1999).
2000 : INSAT-3B was launched on 22 March.
2001 : Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D1),the first developmental launch of GSLV with GSAT-1 on board partially successful.
2002 : INSAT-3C launched successfully by Ariane space (January),PSLV-C4 launches KALPANA-1(September).
2003 : GSLV-D2,the second developmental launch of GSLV with GSAT-2 successful(May).
2004 : First operational flight of GSLV(F1) successfully launches EDUSAT (September)
2005 : Launch of CARTOSAT and HAMSAT by PSLV-C6 rom the second launch pad(Universal Launch Pad) in May.
2006 : INSAT-4A launched.Planned launch of CARTOSAT-2 SRE and LAPAN-TUBSAT.

ISRO is all prepared to send a Chadrayan Moon Mission on April 9,2008
Indian Space Research Oraganisation(ISRO) :

• India's National Space Agency
• formed in June 1972
• Motto: Sustained self-reliance in space
• Headquarters: Bangalore,India
• Website:http://www.isro.org
• Chairman: G. Madhavan Nair(2007-08)

MAJOR INDIAN CONTRIBUTORS TO SPACE RESEARCH :

RAKESH SHARMA

Wing Commmander Rakesh Sharma (retd (born on January 13, 1949 in Patiala,Punjab, India ) was the first Indian and 138th man to visit the Space.

He was conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union upon his return from space. The Government of India conferred its highest gallantry award(during peace time), the Ashoka Chakra on him and the other two Russian members of his mission.

KALPANA CHAWLA

Kalpana Chawla(born on July 1,1961 in Karnal,Haryana.India) was an Indian-born American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist.
AWARDS :

1.Congressional Space Medal of Honor
2.NASA Space Flight Medal
3.NASA Distinguished Service Medal
4.Defense Distinguished Service Medal

Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1998 Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997 as part of the six astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87.
She was one of seven crewmembers lost in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster,a loss not only to the nation but also to the Space Research Programme.She will always be an inspiration for upcoming generations....


SUNITA WILLIAMS







Sunita Williams (born September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio) is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut.
In September 2007, Sunita Williams visited India. She went to the Sabarmati Ashram, the ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1915 and her ancestral village Jhulasan, Gujarat.



AWARDS :

1.Navy Commendation Medals (twice)
2.Navy and Marine Corps 3.Achievement Medal
4.Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards.

Her Major Contributions :
Williams was a mission specialist on STS-117. She was launched on the Space Shuttle mission STS-116, aboard the shuttle Discovery, on December 10, 2006 to join the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to Expedition 15. She returned to Earth on June 22, 2007 at the end of the STS-117 mission.