Aryabhata (satellite)

It was launched by India on 19 April 1975 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.

On 19 April 1975, the satellite's 96.46-minute orbit had an apogee of {{convert|619|km|mi}} and a perigee of {{convert|563|km|mi}}, at an inclination of 50.7 degrees.{{r|satcat|AB_ISRO}} It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polyhedron {{convert|1.4|m|ft}} in diameter. All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells supported by a Ni-Cd battery. It employed passive thermal systems and cold gas jets for spin stabilisation.{{Cite news |title=50 years of Aryabhata: Satellite that launched India’s space journey |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/50-years-of-aryabhata-satellite-that-launched-indias-space-journey/amp_articleshow/120423314.cms |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} Following launch, the satellite experienced tumbling at 0.3° per second and the aeronomy instrument’s power supply failed. However, engineers stabilised the satellite at 50 revolutions/minute by the 45th orbit. A power failure halted experiments after four days and 60 orbits, with all signals from the spacecraft lost after five days of operation. The Spacecraft mainframe remained active till March 1981. The satellite entered Earth's atmosphere on 10 February 1992 due to orbital decay.

• It was named after the 6th-century astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata.
• The satellite's image appeared on the reverse of Indian two-rupee banknotes between 1976 and 1997 (Pick catalog).
• The satellite had officially completed its 50th year in space .{{Cite news |last=A.S.Ganesh |date=2025-04-18 |title=50 years since the launch of Aryabhata |url=https://www.thehindu.com/children/50-years-since-the-launch-of-aryabhata/article69435090.ece |access-date=2025-04-19 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}

File:1984 CPA 5493.jpg|1984 USSR stamp featuring Bhaskara-I, Bhaskara-II and Aryabhata satellites

File:2 Rupees (Reverse) Aryabhata.jpg|Illustration of Aryabhata spacecraft on {{INR}}2 currency bill

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• Rohini RS-1 (Rohini-1B)
• Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web

| url= https://www.isro.gov.in/aryabhata_1.html

| title= Aryabhata

| website= www.isro.org

| publisher= ISRO

| access-date= 31 August 2019 }}

{{cite web

| title= Aryabhata

| url= https://www.ursc.gov.in/experimental-satellites/html/aryabhata.jsp

| website= usrc.gov.in

| access-date= 31 August 2019 }}

{{cite encyclopedia

| title= Aryabhata

| url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aryabhata

| encyclopedia= The New Encyclopædia Britannica

| location= Chicago, USA

| publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.

| edition= 15th

| year= 1992

| volume= 1

| page= 611 }}

{{cite book

| author1= Brian Harvey

| title= The Japanese and Indian Space Programmes: Two Roads into Space

| date= 2000

| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NZZTAAAAMAAJ

| publisher= Springer

| location= London, UK

| isbn= 978-1-852-33199-3

| pages= 133–134 }}

{{cite web

| author1= Arun Dev

| url= https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/4-sheds-for-office-and-1-big-dream-how-india-s-1st-satellite-took-form-101618081166283.html

| title= Four sheds in Bengaluru and one big dream: How India's 1st satellite took form

| newspaper= Hindustan Times

| date= 12 April 2021

| access-date= 16 August 2024 }}

{{cite web

| author1= Jonathan McDowell

| url= https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/launchlog.html

| title= Launch Log

| website= Jonathan's Space Page

| access-date= 22 January 2014 }}

{{cite news

| author1= Martand Jha

| title= Aryabhata: Remembering India's first satellite

| url= https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/aryabhata-remembering-india-s-first-satellite

| date= 17 April 2020

| newspaper= The Interpreter

| access-date= 31 December 2022 }}

{{cite web

| author1= Jonathan McDowell

| url= https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/currentcat.html

| title= Satellite Catalog

| website= Jonathan's Space Page

| access-date= 22 January 2014 }}

{{cite web

| author1= Gunter D. Krebs

| url= https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/aryabhata-1.htm

| title= Aryabhata 1

| website= Gunter's Space Page

| access-date= 16 August 2024 }}

}}

{{Commons category|Aryabhata (satellite)}}

• [https://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/aryabhata-1 Aryabhata-1 Official ISRO Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815200808/https://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/aryabhata-1 |date=15 August 2018 }}
• [https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/missions/aryabhata.html NASA HEASARC Page].
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020211065517/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/arybhata.htm Astronautix Page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027104057/http://geocities.com/hari_ghk/arya.htm India in Space Page]
• [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/SpacecraftQuery.jsp NSSDC Master Catalog Search]

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{{Orbital launches in 1975}}

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Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 1992

Category:1975 in the Soviet Union

Category:1975 in India

Category:India–Soviet Union relations

Category:First artificial satellites of a country

Category:Satellites of India

Category:Spacecraft launched in 1975