India’s First Satellite 🛰 – Aryabhata
Dis-assembled mode tests of Aryabhatta (Photo Credit: ISRO )
India’s first satellite was the Aryabhata spacecraft, named after the famous Indian mathematician and astronomer. it was completely designed and fabricated in India by ISRO and launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar on April 19, 1975.
| Mission | Scientific/ Experimental |
| Weight | 360 kg |
| On board power | 46 Watts |
| Communication | VHF band |
| Stabilization | Spinstabilize |
| Payload | X-ray Astronomy Aeronomy & Solar Physics |
| Launch date | April 19, 1975 |
| Launch site | Volgograd Launch Station (presently in Russia) |
| Launch vehicle | C-1 Intercosmos |
| Orbit | 563 x 619 km |
| Inclination | 50.7 deg |
| Mission life | 6 months(nominal), Spacecraft mainframe active till March,1981 |
| Orbital Life | Nearly seventeen years (Re-entered on February 10,1992) |
- It was a matter of pride for India that between 1976 and 1997 the first satellite image appeared on the reverse of Indian two rupee banknotes.
Source: Internet