Indian National Committee for Space Research
Space agency overview
Formed1962; 62 years ago (1962)
DissolvedAugust 15, 1969; 54 years ago (1969-08-15)
Superseding agency
Minister responsible
Space agency executive
Parent departmentDepartment of Atomic Energy

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)[1][2][3][4][5] was established by India's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1962, on the suggestion of the scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, recognising the need in space research.[6] It committed to formulate the Indian Space Programme.[7] At the time, the committee was part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The committee took over the responsibilities of the Department of Atomic Energy in space science and research. The then director of the DAE, Homi Bhabha, was instrumental in creation of the committee.

INCOSPAR decided to set up Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) at Thumba on the southern tip of India. IOFS officers were drawn from the Indian Ordnance Factories to harness their knowledge of propellants and advanced light materials used to build rockets.[8] H.G.S. Murthy, an IOFS officer, was appointed the first director of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station,[9] where sounding rockets were fired, marking the start of upper atmospheric research in India.[10] An indigenous series of sounding rockets named Rohini was subsequently developed and started undergoing launches from 1967 onwards.[11] Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan, another IOFS officer, developed the propellant for the rockets. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (who later became the President of India) was amongst the initial team of rocket engineers forming the INCOSPAR.

On 15 August 1969, INCOSPAR was superseded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Pushpa M. Bhargava; Chandana Chakrabarti (2003). The Saga of Indian Science Since Independence: In a Nutshell. Universities Press. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-81-7371-435-1.
  2. ^ Marco Aliberti (17 January 2018). India in Space: Between Utility and Geopolitics. Springer. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-3-319-71652-7.
  3. ^ Roger D. Launius (23 October 2018). The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future. Smithsonian Institution. pp. 196–. ISBN 978-1-58834-637-7.
  4. ^ Nambi Narayanan; Arun Ram (10 April 2018). Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 59–. ISBN 978-93-86826-27-5.
  5. ^ Brian Harvey; Henk H. F. Smid; Theo Pirard (30 January 2011). Emerging Space Powers: The New Space Programs of Asia, the Middle East and South-America. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 144–. ISBN 978-1-4419-0874-2.
  6. ^ "About ISRO - ISRO". www.isro.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  7. ^ Mann, Adam (1 March 2019). "ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organization". Space.com. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  8. ^ "'Success is yours, failure is mine' makes one a great leader: Mujumdar". thehitavada.com. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  9. ^ Pawar, Ashwini (29 July 2015). "I'm proud that I recommended him for ISRO: EV Chitnis". DNA India. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  10. ^ "About ISRO – ISRO". Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  11. ^ Chari, Sridhar K (22 July 2006). "Sky is not the limit". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
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