In this article, we will look into the list of ISRO Space and Satellite Missions launched over past few years starting from first Satellite Aryabhata to the recent one. ISRO has been playing a pivotal role in Country Space and Satellite Missions. It is not only fulfilling the country demands but also helping achieve the goal to develop and deliver application specific satellite products.
About ISRO
ISRO is also known as Indian Space Research Organisation. It is a national Space Agency of the Republic of India headquartered in Bangalore, India. Initially ISRO was known as Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) which was established by Jawaharlal Nehru under the Department of Atomic Energy in 1962. Later on, INCOSPAR grew and became ISRO in 1969.
List of Important ISRO Space and Satellite Missions
Also Read: Important Mission Mars 2020: Perseverance Rover and Robotic Helicopter
1. Mars Orbiter Mission
Launch Date: 5th Nov, 2013
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C25
Orbit Type: Martian
Description: It is India's first Interplanetary mission which basically acted as a technology demonstrator which will open the gateway for Future Mars Mission.
2. Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment(CARE)
Launch Date: 18th Dec, 2014
Launch Vehicle: LVM-3/CARE Mission
Description: The main objective of this mission was to demonstrate the reentry flight of Crew Module.
3. GSAT-30
Launch Date: 17th Jan, 2020
Launch Vehicle: Ariane-5 VA-251
Orbit Type: GSO(Geo Synchronous Orbit)
Description: This satellite acted as a replacement for the defunct INSAT-4A. It is used for very small aperture terminal(VSAT) networks, television uplinks and other communication systems.
4. RISAT-2BR1
Launch Date: 11th Dec, 2019
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C48/RISAT-2BR1
Orbit Type: LEO(Low Earth Orbit)
Description: It is a Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) imaging satellite launched by ISRO on 11 December 2019 at 09:55 UTC with nine other ride-sharing commercial satellites from First Launch Pad of SDSC, SHAR.
5. Cartosat-3
Launch Date: 27th Nov, 2019
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C47 / Cartosat-3 Mission
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is a third generation advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability launched by ISRO to address the increased user's demand for large scale urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development.
6. Chandrayaan-2
Launch Date: 22nd July, 2019
Launch Vehicle: GSLV-Mk III - M1 / Chandrayaan-2 Mission
Orbit Type: Lunar
Description: It is an Orbiter launched by ISRO to orbit the moon in a Polar Orbit at an altitude of 100 km.
7. RISAT-2B
Launch Date: 22nd May, 2019
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C46 Mission
Orbit Type: LEO(Low Earth Orbit)
Description: It is a Radar Imaging Satellite launched by ISRO on 22 May 2019 from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre to replace RISAT-2.
8. EMISAT
Launch Date: 1st April, 2019
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C45/EMISAT MISSION
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian reconnaissance satellite under DRDO Project Kautilya launched by ISRO on 1st April 2019.
9. GSAT-31
Launch Date: 6th Feb, 2019
Launch Vehicle: Ariane-5 VA-247
Orbit Type: GTO
Description: It is a telecommunication satellite launched by ISRO on February 06, 2019 from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-247.
10. Microsat-R
Launch Date: 24th Jan, 2019
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C44
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It was launched by ISRO to be used as target for Indian ASAT Experiment on 27th March, 2019.
11. GSAT-7A
Launch Date: 19th Dec, 2018
Launch Vehicle: GSLV-F11 / GSAT-7A Mission
Description: It is an advanced military communication satellite launched by ISRO primarily for the Indian Air Force with Indian Army.
12. GSAT-11
Launch Date: 5th Dec, 2018
Launch Vehicle: Ariane-5 VA-246
Orbit Type: GTO(Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit)
Description: It is a geostationary communication satellite launched successfully from the European Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center) on 2037 UTC, 4 December 2018 along with GEO-KOMPSAT-2A of KARI. More on ISRO Official website.
13. HysIS
Launch Date: 29th Nov, 2018
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C43 / HysIS Mission
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an earth observation satellite launched by ISRO on 29 November 2018 from First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
14. GSAT-29
Launch Date: 14th Nov, 2018
Launch Vehicle: GSLV Mk III-D2 / GSAT-29 Mission
Orbit Type: GTO(Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit)
Description: It is a high-throughput communication satellite developed by ISRO to provide high-speed bandwidth to Village Resource Centres (VRC) in rural areas.
15. IRNSS-1I
Launch Date: 12th April, 2018
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is the eighth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) series of satellites which was successfully launched by ISRO on 11th April, 2018.
16. GSAT-6A
Launch Date: 29th March, 2018
Launch Vehicle: GSLV-F08/GSAT-6A Mission
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is a communication satellite which was launched in August 2015 by ISRO. Its main aim was to provide mobile communication services to the Indian Armed Forces.
17. Cartosat-2 Series
Launch Date: 12th Jan, 2018
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Earth Observation Satellite launched by ISRO on 12th Jan, 2018.
18. INS-1C
Launch Date: 12th Jan, 2018
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is the third satellite in the Indian Nano Satellite Series launched by ISRO on 12th January, 2018. It is used for topographical mapping, vegetation monitoring, aerosol scattering studies and cloud studies.
19. Microsat
Launch Date: 12th Jan, 2018
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Earth Observing Satellite launched by ISRO on 12th January, 2018. It is used to capture images at night by imaging in infrared spectrum.
20. GSAT-17
Launch Date: 29th June, 2017
Launch Vehicle: Ariane-5 VA-238
Orbit Type: GTO(Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian Communication Satellite built by ISRO and launched on 28th June 2017 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
21. Cartosat-2 Series
Launch Date: 23rd June, 2017
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C38 / Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: GTO(Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit)
Description: It is an Earth Observation Satellite designed by ISRO to collect high-resolution, large-scale imagery for use in urban planning, infrastructure development, utilities planning, and traffic management.
22. GSAT-19
Launch Date: 5th June, 2017
Launch Vehicle: GSLV Mk III-D1/GSAT-19 Mission
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian communication satellite launched by ISRO aboard a GSLV Mark III on 5 June 2017.
23. GSAT-9
Launch Date: 5th May, 2017
Launch Vehicle: GSLV-F09 / GSAT-9
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is also known as South Asia Satellite launched by ISRO on 5th May, 2017.
24. INS-1A
Launch Date: 15th Feb, 2017
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian Communication Satellite launched by ISRO in 1982. It was built by Ford Aerospace and operated by the Indian National Satellite System.
25. INS-1B
Launch Date: 15th Feb, 2017
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is a nano satellite built by ISRO to evaluate the INS bus as a versatile and modular Nano satellite bus system envisioned for future science and experimental payloads. More on INS-1B.
26. Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
Launch Date: 15th Feb, 2017
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Earth Observation Satellite built and launched by ISRO on 15th February, 2017. It was launched along with two Indian nanosatellites (INS-1A and INS-1B) and 101 nanosatellites belonging to research facilities in United States of America, Kazakhstan, Israel, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
27. RESOURCESAT-2A
Launch Date: 7th Dec, 2016
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C36 / RESOURCESAT-2A
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an advanced remote sensing satellite launched by ISRO on 7th Dec, 2016. It is used to give regular micro and macro information on land and water bodies below, farm lands and crop extent, forests, mineral deposits, coastal information, rural and urban spreads besides helping in disaster management.
28. GSAT-18
Launch Date: 6th Oct, 2016
Launch Vehicle: Ariane-5 VA-231
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian Communication Satellite built by ISRO and launched on 5th October 2016 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
29. SCATSAT-1
Launch Date: 26th Sep, 2016
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C35 / SCATSAT-1
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is a satellite developed by ISRO for Weather Forecasting, Cyclone Prediction and Tracking Services to India.
30. INSAT-3DR
Launch Date: 8th Sep, 2016
Launch Vehicle: GSLV-F05 / INSAT-3DR
Orbit Type: GSO(Geosynchronous Orbit)
Description: It is an Indian Weather Satellite which was launched on 8 September 2016, and is a follow-up to INSAT-3D.
31. Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
Launch Date: 22nd June, 2016
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C34 / CARTOSAT-2 Series Satellite
Orbit Type: SSPO(Sun-synchronous Polar Orbit)
Description: It is an Earth Observation satellite launched by ISRO on 22nd June, 2016. The satellite carried a panchromatic (PAN) camera capable of taking black-and-white pictures in the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum.