ISRO: Indian Space Research Organization

Synopsis

ISRO is an organization of nearly 17,000 scientists, and engineers responsible for conducting space programs, and launching missions for the development of India. ISRO is known for conducting the most efficient, and cost-effective space missions in the world. For instance, the Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) was executed with a total budget of $73 million, compared to NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) at about $583 million. This talk shines the light on the origin of ISRO, along with its achievements and future missions, emphasizing the Orbital Physics specifically the Oberth effect, which allows a satellite to take advantage of gaining more kinetic energy when it is closest to a celestial body, and also discussing the most economical technique of placing a satellite into a path that requires the least energy that India used for Mangalyaan to minimize fuel consumption, and maximize efficiency.