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Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was the founding father of the Indian space programme, and is considered not only a scientific visionary by many but also a national hero. After the launch of Sputnik in 1957, he recognised the potential that satellites provided. India’s first Prime Minister, Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw scientific development as an essential part of India’s future, placed space research under the jurisdiction of the Department of Atomic Evergy in 1961. The DAE Director Homi Bhabha, who is regarded as the father of India’s atomic programme, then established the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) with Dr. Sarabhai as Chairman in 1962.
From its establishment in 1962, the Indian space programme began establishing itself with the launch of sounding rockets, which was complemented by India’s geographical proximity to the equator. These were established from the newly-established Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), built near Thiruvananthapuram in south Kerala. Subsequently, India developed indigenous technology of sounding rockets called Rohini Family of sounding rockets.
Recognising the need for indigenous technology, and possibility of future instability in the supply of parts and technology, the Indian space programme endeavoured to indigenise every material supply route, mechanism, and technology. As the Indian Rohini Programme continued to launch sounding rockets of greater size and complexity, the space programme expanded and was eventually given its own government department, separate from the department of Atomic Energy. In 1969, the India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was created and finally the Department of Space was established in 1972.