Aryabhata was India's first satellite,[1] named after the famous Indian astronomer.[2] It was launched on 19 April 1975[1] from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the ISRO, and launched by the Soviet Union as a part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme which provided access to space for friendly states.
Launch
It was launched by India on 19 April 1975[1] from Kapustin Yar, a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).The launch came from an agreement between India and the Soviet Union directed by UR Rao and signed in 1972. It allowed the USSR to use Indian ports for tracking ships and launching vessels in return for launching various different Indian satellites.[3]
On 19 April 1975, the satellite's 96.46-minute orbit had an apogee of Template:Convert and a perigee of Template:Convert, at an inclination of 50.7 degrees.[4][5] It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polyhedron Template:Convert in diameter. All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells.[6] A power failure halted experiments after four days and 60 orbits with all signals from the spacecraft lost after five days of the operation.Template:Citation needed Spacecraft mainframe remained active till March 1981.[5] Due to orbital decay the satellite entered Earth's atmosphere on 11 February 1992.[5]
Legacy
- It was named after the 5th century astronomer and mathematician from India by Aryabhatta.[7]
- The satellite's image appeared on the reverse of Indian two rupee banknotes between 1976 and 1997 (Pick catalog).[6]
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1984 USSR stamp featuring Bhaskara-I, Bhaskara-II and Aryabhata satellites
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Illustration of Aryabhata spacecraft on Template:INR2 currency bill
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See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Aryabhata" in The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 611.
- ↑ Aryabhata - The first indigenously built satellite.
- ↑ The Japanese and Indian space programmes : two roads into space{{#if:Harvey|, Harvey}. Springer [u.a.](2000). ISBN 1-85233-199-2
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsatcat - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAB_ISRO - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAB_URSC - ↑ The Japanese and Indian Space Programmes: Two Roads into Space{{#if:Harvey|, Harvey}. Springer(2000). ISBN 1-85233-199-2
External links
Template:Indian space programme Template:Indian spacecraft Template:Orbital launches in 1975