Aryabhata: India’s First Indigenous Satellite

21 Apr 2025

April 19, 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of Aryabhata, India’s first indigenously built satellite.

It laid the foundation of India’s space communication, scientific research, and satellite technology ecosystem.
As of 2025, ISRO has launched 131 satellites, with 51 currently operational in orbit.

About Aryabhata Satellite

Name: Aryabhata, after the ancient Indian astronomer (Aryabhata I – 476 to 550 CE).
Developed by: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Launch Date: April 19, 1975.
Launch Vehicle & Site:
- Launched using Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket
- From Kapustin Yar, USSR (present-day Russia)

Aryabhata

Shape: 26-sided quasi-spherical structure.
Scientific Objectives:
1. X-ray astronomy experiments.
2. Solar neutron and gamma ray detection.
3. Upper atmospheric studies.
Notable Milestone: First satellite designed and built entirely in India; only launched with foreign assistance.

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About Aryabhata I (476–550 CE)

Key Contributions

Proposed a heliocentric model with the rotation of Earth on its axis.
Provided an accurate value of π (pi ≈ 3.1416).
Introduced the concept of zero and sine functions.
Calculated sidereal rotation, solar eclipses, and lunar eclipses with remarkable precision.

Book: Aryabhatiya: His magnum opus divided into four chapters—

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