Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is India's national space agency, established in 1969 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, founded by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai as the successor to India's National Committee for Space Research. ISRO conducts end-to-end space activities spanning launch vehicle development, satellite design and manufacture, Earth observation, interplanetary science, and navigation — operating one of the world's most cost-effective space programs.

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) completed over 60 successful missions providing India and international customers access to sun-synchronous orbit for Earth observation, navigation, and scientific satellites. The legendary 2017 PSLV-C37 mission simultaneously deployed 104 satellites — a world record. The heavier Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III (now LVM3) provides domestic GEO launch capability and has been contracted to deploy OneWeb constellation satellites.

ISRO's landmark planetary programs include Chandrayaan-1 (2008, confirmed water ice at lunar poles using Moon Impact Probe), the Mars Orbiter Mission / Mangalyaan (2014 — India's first interplanetary mission and the first Asian nation to reach Mars, achieved at a historic cost of approximately $73M), and Chandrayaan-3 (August 2023) which successfully soft-landed the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover near the lunar south pole — making India the first nation to successfully reach that location. Aditya-L1 (2023) studies the solar corona from the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point.

India's NavIC regional satellite navigation system provides independent positioning across the Indian subcontinent. The IN-SPACe regulatory body (2020) enables commercial launch companies like Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos alongside ISRO's national programs.