MILESTONES

1963

A sounding rocket made in the US launched from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station

1975

Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, named after the ancient astronomer-mathematician, launched on April 19 from a Soviet rocket launch site

1980

India becomes the sixth member of an exclusive club after its Sate llite Launch Vehicle – 3 (SLV – 3)

places a 40 kg payload in low earth orbit. It paves the way for the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle

1994 PSLV,

India’s third-generation launch vehicle, takes off. A reliable workhorse, it would launch 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for foreign customers by 2017

2008

Chandrayaan-1, the first Indian mission to the moon, launched by PSLV

2013

PSLV launches Mangalyaan, the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft

2015

First successful flight of

GSLV-D5, it uses an indigenous cryogenic engine

2019

Chandrayaan-2 launched, is a partial success; Mission Shakti of DRDO neutralises a satellite in space with its anti-satellite missile

2020

With growing demand for space technology, India allows private firms to venture into the space industry