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I've had a fairly eventful life. I've been lucky enough to go to lots of places and do lots of things that few others have done - but I'm not sure how many qualify under the "less than 7000 people" rule.... Hmmnn... I'll try though.In 1979 I was beaten up by the remaining members of the Sex Pistols and Sham 69. Hugely famous punk bands in the UK in the 70s.Well not quite beaten up- but I do recall being sat on and ended up in considerable dishabille. For those of you who were punk rockers in the 70s you will realise that this is quite a considerable claim to fame! For those of you who weren't then you missed some great times.At the time as a 17 year old needing money, I was working evenings at a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland as a hotel porter/room service waiter. Sid Vicious had died earlier that year and the Sex Pistols were in the process of breaking up. Another of the top UK punk bands at the time, Sham 69, were due to play their farewell gig at the Glasgow Apollo theatre before their lead singer joined the remaining members of the Sex Pistols in a new band. This was big news on the UK punk scene.The band were staying at the hotel I worked in and were being interviewed by members of the music press when I was asked to take an order up to one of the rooms. Of course by the time I got the order there the press were goading them into acting up for the cameras. To cut a long story short I ended up on the floor with a considerable amount of the order I was serving. It was all good natured and a show for the press. No harm meant - but a great story for me as a young Punk Rocker!The pictures taken at the time ended up on the cover of "Sounds" magazine (which is how I managed to find this pic.) and I believe that when this picture was taken I'm on the floor just to the left and that's what they're laughing at.Fast forward three or four years - I believe I was, for a very short time, holder of the speed record for towed roller skating.I was hugely into skating and got into bowl riding and freestyle on quad skates - for those of you too young to know anything other than inline skates, these were "proper" roller skates with four wheels on each, like these:Anyway I was involved in some filming for an advert where the director wanted shots of a skater being towed behind a car before letting go and peeling off to the side.Wearing full motorbike leathers and full face helmets myself and a friend were to take alternate runs past the cameras until they got the shot they wanted.My first and only run was 78 mph - just over 125 kph! I needed to tighten up the trucks on my skates (they had been vibrating like hell - scary at that speed) so my friend did the next run and hit 84 mph - just over 135 kph and the director said he'd got the shot he needed so no need for another run. Damn... I knew I could have gone faster but the car had driven off and the crew took down all the gear so no chance for another run. So for twenty glorious minutes I had held (probably) the world speed record on roller skates!Now I don't know what the actual world speed record was at the time and this was not an official attempt, but even if there was a faster one at the time I'll bet that fewer than 7000 people have ever gone more than 125 kph on quad skates!Fast forward again - this time to 1991 and I was joint leader of the first major Botanical Expedition to the Trikora area of the highlands of what was then called Irian Jaya - now West Papua.An extraordinary place, the highland plateaux and the Baliem valley hadn't been seen by westerners until an overflight by Richard Archbold in 1938 discovered to his suprise a complex system of populated valleys and densely cultivated slopes. Although there had been a number of expeditions since then the area was effectively closed off to outsiders in 1963 and the area around Trikora had never been documented. A couple of small exploratory expeditions were allowed in in 1990 and early 91 and preparations made for a major survey in the latter part of 1991.The area, at the time was still home to various tribes who despite an attempt by the Indonesian authorities to "acculturise" the indigenous peoples to Indonesian norms, still lived in their traditional villages, dressed in their traditional clothing and still used stone tools!They didn't dress like this for tourists -there were none in the mountains. This is how they dressed on a day today basis.Even in the main town of Wamena which had an airstrip and some guest houses (mainly to house Government workers but just opening up to a few tightly organised tourist groups) it was commonplace to see Dani, Yali and Lani tribespeople walking the streets or trading in the marketplace dressed like this.We were to conduct a number of botanical, ethnobotanical and biological surveys of an area several days walk into the mountains around Puncak Trikora (Trikora Peak) and Lake Habbema, for around three months.Based near the village of Pabilolo we had groups travelling several days into the surrounding mountains to collect botanical samples, interview villagers about the local use of plants and collect samples of various invertebrates.To cut a long story short, I was responsible for getting a group of around 20 scientists from some of the most prestigeous institutions in the world, ten staff members and 50 or so field assistants into one of the most inaccessable (at the time) places in the world, looking after them and ensuring they were safe,sheltered and fed,organising their movements and transporting their collections back to the UK. This in an area that had never been thoroughly mapped let alone had its flora documented. This was the first major scientific expedition to the area which had been closed to outsiders for many years and which was soon to be closed again. (but that's another story).Note: I haven't gone into the political issues that have plagued the area for many many years, nor do I intend to beyond saying that Irian Jaya is now known as West Papua - and it was a long struggle for the people to get it that far. I know they still have a long way to go and I wish them well....So there you have it - a few things I've done in my life so far that I believe fewer than 7000 people have ever done.

ALL POSTS TAGGED OLDEST SANSKRIT INSCRIPTIONMulavarman Sanskrit Inscription of Indonesia (Post No.5093)Written by London swaminathanDate: 9 JUNE 2018Time uploaded in London – 16-54 (British Summer Time)Post No. 5093Pictures shown here are taken from various sources such as Facebook friends, Books, Google and newspapers; thanks. Pictures may be subject to copyright laws.I read the following piece of interesting information today about the oldest inscriptions in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world.“The oldest known inscriptions in Indonesia – we read in The Economic and Administrative History of Early Indonesia (van Naessesn and de Longh 1977) – are those of East Borneo. Here there are seven stone sacrificial posts, called ‘yuupaas’ by archaeologists, that date from around 400 CE. What is written on them is described in the following terms:-In clear, well written Sanskrit verses Mulavarman ‘the lord of king’, his father Asvavarman, ‘the founder of the noble race’ – and his grandfather, the great Kundunga, ‘the lord of men’ are mentioned on the occasion of a sacrifice. For that sacrifice, we read on one of the stone poles (yuupaa), this sacrificial post has been prepared by the chief amongst the twice born (dvija=Brahmins).Apparently these priests who had come hither ( as written on the second pole) were rewarded by the King Mulavarman for their religious services.Thus the third inscription sounds, “Let the foremost among the priests and whatsoever other pious men hear of the meritorious deed of Muavarman, the king of illustrious and resplendent fame (let him hear ) of his great gift, his gift of cattle, of a wonder tree, his gift of land. For this multitude of pious deeds this sacrificial post has been set up by the priests.(wonder tree= Krapaka Vriksha in gold or Soma plant?)A Sanskrit inscription in West Java dating from around 450 CE deals with an occasion on which the Brahmins were presented with 1000 cows.40,000 Brahmins!(An inscription in the southern most village of India, Kanyakumari, claims that the founder of the Cola dynasty, finding no Brahmins on the bank of Kaveri, brought a large number of them from Aryavarta and settled them there. His remote descendant Vira Rajendra created several brahmadeya (donation to Brahmins) villages and furnished forty thousand Brahmins with gifts of land (see Gopinath Rao, 1926)Kanchi Parmacharya (1894-1994), Sri Shankaracharya Chandra Sekhara Indra Sarasvati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam mentioned about this inscription in 1950s. Now the world is shedding more light on it. When they discovered it, Borneo island was full of thick forests. They thought that thy were virgin forests and were surprised to find the Yupa posts inside the deep forest. Once upon a time it was a place where people lived happily.Yupa post is mentioned in 2000 year old Tamil Sangam literature with the same Sanskrit word. Great Pandya King Mud Kudumi Peru Vazuthi did so many fire sacrifices (Yagas) and Kalidasa mentioned that the Pandya king was always wearing the Yaga clothes. So Yupas were very familiar with the Tamil Pandyas and Cholzas. When Cheran Chenguttuvan was boasting about his historic march to the Himalayas, a Brahmin openly challenged him amidst a big crowd that he must stop the wars and do Yagas and Yajnas. This episode of Madala Maraiyon is in the most famous Tamil epic Silappadikaram. Instead of chopping the head of Madala Maraiyon for this open criticism, Cheran Senguttuvan the great Chera king immediately ordered for the fire sacrifices. He rewarded the Brahmin with gold equal to the weight of huge Chenguttuvan.Source books- From Turfan to Ajanta, Edited by Eli Franco and Monika Zin, Lumbini International Research Institute, Nepal; Silappadikaram; Kanchi Paramacharyal Discourses, Kalaimakal Karyalayam.–Subham–LEAVE A COMMENTby TAMIL AND VEDAS on JUNE 9, 2018 • PERMALINKPosted in தமிழ் பண்பாடு, வரலாறுTagged INDONESIA, MULAVARMAN, OLDEST SANSKRIT INSCRIPTIONOld Sanskrit Inscriptions in Mosques and on CoinsVima Khadpises gold coin with Sanskrit inscription(Second part of Sanskrit inscriptions in strange places. Please read the first part)Sanskrit inscriptions older than Rudradaman (150 AD) are found on coins. A notable gold dinar coin of Vima Khadpises shows Lord Shiva with a Sanskrit inscription. It is written in Kharoshti script along with Greek script. The legend on the coin is: Maharajasa Rajadirajasa Sarvaloka Isvarasa Mahesvarasa Vima Kathphisasa Tratara. It is dated 112 AD. Vima Khadpises had issued coins with Shiva on bull (Rishaba) vahana as well.In the mosqueBhoja is a famous name in Sanskrit literature. There were several Bhojas and they were all great Sanskrit scholars. One such Bhoja lived during the times of Kalidasa in first century BC. But now we are looking at a Bhoja who ruled from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh. He built a temple for goddess Saraswathi. It was destroyed during Muslim invasion. The mosque had several parts of destructed temple. Fortunately one structure was left intact and that was the Sanskrit vyakarana (grammar) written as Chitra Kavi. It shows grammar in wheel shaped diagrams or pictures. This Bhoja ruled between 1010 AD and 1060 AD. He was a master of many arts and authored at least thirty books in Sanskrit ranging from astronomy to economics. One of the idols he installed is in British museum in London. But the vyakarana chakra (grammar slokas written in circular diagrams) is in the mosque itself. Now the archaeological survey has arranged for Hindus and Muslims worship on different days.S E AsiaMost of the South East Asian Sanskrit inscriptions are written in Pallava Grantha script. We may surmise that the South Indian sculptors who travelled from the east coast must have inscribed them. It also shows South Indians were great Sanskrit scholars. South India had produced famous Sanskrit scholars like Adi Shankara,Patanjali,Nilakanta Dikshitar and they in turn wrote a lot of books until last century. In our own times Kanchi Shankaracharya’s Sanskrit composition for world peace was sung by MS Subbalakshmi in the United Nations which reverberated throughout the world.Sanskrit can’t die as long as India and Hinduism survive. All our personal names and place names and Gods names are in Sanskrit. Even the motto of Government of India is in Sanskrit : Sathyameva Jayate-Truth alone triumphs from the Mundakopanishad. Not only the temple archanas (gods names) but also all the religious literature are in Sanskrit.The most famous Mantra of the Hindus Gayatri (Rig Veda) has been recited by millions of Hindus for thousands of years without any break. The ancient seers (Rishis) started reciting this from 1500 BC according to Western “scholars”. But Hindus believe them s eternal sounds in the sky like radio waves. If you are at the same wavelength you can catch them like radio frequencies. So no one can call Sanskrit a dead language like Latin. Latin is used by Pope and his circle only. But Sanskrit names are used by millions of laymen. Indians can’t survive without Sanskrit. For instance if someone orders tomorrow that no Sanskrit word should be used for twenty four hours, Indians can’t function for twenty four hours. It is like ordering the entire country to stop using electricity for 24 hours. In short unlike Latin, Sanskrit has mixed with our life which no force in the world can separate for generations to come.Anyone reading this piece, stop reading and think for a minute- think about your grandparents names, think about your friends’ names and think about your towns names and last but not the least your language. Everywhere you will find Sanskrit. This is true for all the South East Asians as well.This divine language and its magical spell (mantra) will help India to survive for eons. When all the five big powers have gone India will survive because of it’s motto alone: Satyameva Jayate !LEAVE A COMMENTby TAMIL AND VEDAS on MARCH 17, 2012 • PERMALINKPosted in CULTURE, SANSKRIT LITERATURETagged COINS, OLDEST SANSKRIT INSCRIPTION, SANSKRIT IN MOSQUEAncient Sanskrit Inscriptions in Strange PlacesMulavarman’s inscription in Jakarta MuseumOld Sanskrit inscriptions are found around the world in strange places! Sanskrit is the only language in the world to have inscriptions around the world covering a vast geographical area and covering a long historical period. Rig Veda is dated around 1500 BC. This book is in Vedic Sanskrit like Sangam Tamil literature is in ancient Tamil. There are hundreds of Sanskrit inscriptions in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, China, Russia, Indonesia and Malaysia. The inscriptions are in different scripts. In India we have Rudradaman’s inscription (150 AD) in Nagari script.The inscriptions are not only in big cities but also in dark, thick tropical forests of Borneo and a Christian church in Malaysia as well. Mulavarman, a fourth century king did a Yagna and installed seven Yupa posts to commemorate it in Borneo island of Indonesia. It was discovered in an area covered by very thick forests. Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iran and other Muslim countries have some written documents in the form of letters, manuals or inscriptions where in Sanskrit names or words figure prominently. Rama’s father was Dasaratha is a well known fact. But before him there were three or four Dasarathas and one of them ruled part of Syria ! He gave his daughters in marriage to an Egyptian pharaoh and wrote many letters to him!According to many scholars, Mahabharata war was fought on Indian soil in and around 1500 BC (Hindus believe it was before 3102 BC) .At the same time there was a Dasaratha (Spelt Thusratta) ruling Syria/Turkey area which are Muslim countries now. That kingdom was called Mittanni (Mitra is one of the names of Surya). We have the Mittanni kings name in Sanskrit. It shows that Sanskrit language existed from the eastern corner of India to Egypt in Africa 3500 years ago. Dasaratha’s letters are very interesting to read. His daughters name are in Sanskrit and they were married to Egyptian King Amenothep (may be Amana Devan ).We have even recovered a Horse Training Manual written in 1350 BC with Sanskrit words! For thousands of years horses and elephants were trained using only Sanskrit words. Sangam Tamil book Mullaipaatu mentions that elephants were trained by using Sanskrit words in Tamilnadu (Mullaipattau lines 32-36)The horse manual written by Kikkuli ( Aswa Sena) runs to 1080 lines on clay tablets. Though it is written in Hittite language the numerals Aika,Tera,Pancha, Satta, Nava vartaana (1,3,5,7,9 intervals) and words for colours are in Sanskrit.Vedic Gods in Muslim country!We have the Vedic Gods name in an agreement in Bogazkoy in Turkey . This agreement was written by Hittite King Suppililiuma and Mittannian king Matiwaza (may be Mathi vachanan). The amazing thing about the agreement is the Vedic gods names Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Nasatyas (Aswins ) all are in the same order as in Rig Veda. Not even the order was changed. It shows that Vedas were used from the plains of Ganges to the land of Syria and Turkey at the same time- 1380 BC! In Vietnam (Champa in olden days) the Pandyan King’s name Sri Maran is found on an inscription. Sri Maran is a Sanskrit word for Thirumaran (We have one Muda Thiru Maran in Sangam Tamil literature). Please find more details in my article The Pandya King who ruled Vietnam.In Karatepe ( In Turkey) we have found a long inscription which ended like Indian inscriptions. It is dated 850 BC. Those who deliver Indian religious discourses very often use a phrase, “so long as the sun and moon shines, this will survive——-“. Karatepe inscription finished with these lines which showed Indian influence.13. Now, if a king among kings, or a prince among princes,14. or any man who is a man of renown, gives15. orders for the name of Azitiwada to be effaced from the statue16. of this god, and puts up his own name, or more than that, if hecovets17. this city and says, I will make18. another statue and put my own name on it, and the19. statue of the god which Azitiwada made, (that of)20. Baal KRNTRYÅ , which is at the king’s entrance in(to)25. ……….[Only may the name]26. of Azitiwada last for ever like the name27. of the sun and the moon!Thusratta’s letter to Egyptian king in Cuneiform script(The Egyptian King who installed only one God was called Aknaten (Eka Nathan= One God)! The Egyptian river Blue Nile was named after the Sanskrit colour Nila=blue! The word Syria is nothing but Surya (sun). Hurrian is also Suryan (sun). Iran is nothing but Aryan).In Nepal Kings of Lichavi dynasty had issued more than 85 Sanskrit inscriptions between 463 AD to 770 AD. There were more than 3000 slokas in the inscriptions. In Rudradaman inscription we have beautiful slokas. It shows that people around the world, whether it is Cambodia or Indonesia or Nepal knew bombastic, stylish and ornamental Sanskrit language. All these inscriptions maintain high standards. Art Historian Sri C Sivaramamurti has shown how the greatest playwright Kalidasa had influenced these inscriptions from 2ndcentury AD.Tamil inscriptions were also found in South East Asia. But whatever the language, if it is Indian language, it can’t be written without a Sanskrit word.All the Asokan and all the Tamil inscriptions have Sanskrit words. Prakrit is the spoken form of Sanskrit. In Sanskrit dramas women and clowns speak in Prakrit. Kings, ministers and high ranking officials speak in Sanskrit. Dharma in Sanskrit will be Dhamma in Pali. I have already written that there is no ancient Tamil work without a Sanskrit word.Sanskrit in Church!Catholic pilgrims in Malaysia go on a pilgrimage to Bukit Mertajam in Penang. They send petitions and thanks giving at the church of St Anne on 26thJuly every year. Inside the church complex is the Cherok Tok Kun Inscription in Sanskrit. Unfortunately only a French historian copied it and published it in French. So we did not have the full text.So called scholars of western countries were partial when they dealt with Sanskrit. They invented new theories like Indo European, Indo Iranian, Indo Aryan ,Ancient, Middle, Later and confused the people. They did not use it for Hebrew, Greek or Tamil. Old Testament or Old Hebrew literature, Iliad and Odyssey, Sangam Tamil Literature were all written in the ancient or archaic forms of the respective languages. No Tamil could understand Sangam literature without commentaries. The spellings for the same Tamil names are different in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Mauritius even today. Dhamayanthy and Subramaniam are written with four different spellings by four different Tamil communities!! But they don’t call themselves different people. But if it is Sanskrit, there will be 100 theories about it!B. B Lal (Former Director General of Archaeological Survey of India) has shown that Indians migrated to West Asia and established Kingdoms like Mittanni 3500 years ago. Baudayana Srautasutra (18.44) mentions it. In the same way Agastya and Kaundinya led another group of Indians to South East Asia to establish Hindu kingdoms (Please read my article Did Agastya Drink ocean? And How old is Indian Civilization? )Baudhāyana Śrautasūtra (18.44) Reference:Pra-n.a-yauh. pravavra-ja tasyaite Kuru–Pan~cha-la-h. Ka-śi- -Videha- ity etad A-yavam pravrājam. Pratyan. Ama-vasus tasyaite Ga-ndha-rayas Parśvo Ara-t.t.a– ity etad A-ma-vasavam

The many achievements of ISRO have always made Indians proud.While most of them are well-documented, there are some which most Indians don't know of.Source:Glassdoor1. ISRO's maiden lunar mission, Chandrayaan discovered water on the moon.Back in 2009, NASA confirmed that it was India'sMoon Impact Probe (MIP) on board country's unmanned lunar craft which detected evidence of water on the moon.Source:Reacho2. India has its own space observatory, thanks to ISRO.AstroSat, India's first dedicated space observatory may be 10 times smaller than Hubble Telescope but is the first space telescope launched by a developing country.Source:BankExamsToday3.ISRO’s first satellite was a nanosatellite weighing just 40kg.Although India isn't well-known for manufacturing nanosatellites, ISRO Chairman Nair, once revealed first satellite many years ago was a nano one, weighing just 40 kg.Source:BodexNG4. ISRO discovered three species of rare bacteria.One of most important achievements of ISRO was the discovery of three species of bacteria in the upper stratosphere at an altitude of between 20–40 km. The bacteria, highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation, are not found elsewhere on Earth.Source:ScienceDaily5. Britain once hired a rocket from ISRO.In July 2015, ISRO launched 5 British satellites. Britain not only rented premium space from ISRO but also hired a rocket for the first time.Achievements of ISROIndian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is an Indian space agency which is now 6th largest space agency in the world. ISRO also develops application specific satellites to help in weather forecasting, disaster management, Geographic Information System (GIS), Cartography, distance education among others.ISRO’s FeatsCreated Polarized Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to make cost effective launch system. This has also increased international space collaboration by launching satellites of other nations at low costs.Chandrayan 1: It has launched Chandrayan 1 lunar probe mission in 2008.Mangalyan: ISRO has launched Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013 and created history by launching Mangalyan (mission spacecraft) into the Mars orbit in maiden attempt.ASTROSAT: It has launched first space observatory in 2015 to become fourth agency to do so after Nasa, Roscosmos and ESA.Scramjet: Supersonic Combusting Ramjet has been launched by ISRO. This system works on Air-breathing Propulsion System which uses atmospheric oxygen to burn the fuel in the rocket.RLV-TD: ISRO has launched Reusable Launch vehicle space shuttle RLV -TD to launch satellites around earth orbit and re-enter into the atmosphere.104 satellites: ISRO has created history by launching 104 satellites in one go.Crew Escape module: Isro has test-launched Crew Escape Module paving the way for manned space mission Gaganyan.Besides, NAVIC (navigation system satellites) and South Asia Satellite are other missions which are a remarkable example of international coordination in the space arena.ISRO has achieved a number of feat and success to make India one of the few pioneers in the satellite launching and space missions.Genesis of Indian Space ProgrammeThe space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960’s, when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States. With the live transmission of Tokyo Olympic Games across the Pacific by the American Satellite ‘Syncom-3’ demonstrating the power of communication satellites, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of Indian space programme, quickly recognized the benefits of space technologies for India.As a first step, the Department of Atomic Energy formed the INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) under the leadership of Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Ramanathan in 1962. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was later formed on August 15, 1969. The prime objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national needs. It is one of the six largest space agencies in the world. The Department of Space (DOS) and the Space Commission were set up in 1972 and ISRO was brought under DOS on June 1, 1972.Since inception, the Indian space programme has been orchestrated well and had three distinct elements such as, satellites for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system and application programmes. Two majot operational systems have been established – the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) for telecommunication, television broadcasting, and meteorological services and the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) for monitoring and management of natural resources and Disaster Management Support.Major milestones in Indian Space ProgrammeIndian Space Programme began at Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) located at Thumba near Thiruvanathapuram. Thumba was selected for being rocket launching station because geomagnetic equator of the earth passes over Thumba. The geomagnetic equator of the earth passes over Thumba.On November 21, 1963, the first sounding rocket was launched from TERLS. The first rocket, a Nike-Apache was procured from the US. A sounding rocket is a rocket, which is intended for assessing the physical parameters of the upper atmosphere.The Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station was set up at Ahmedabad on January 1, 1967.India’s first indigenous sounding rocket, RH-75, was launched on November 20, 1967.Aryabhata - First Indian Satellite was launched on April 19, 1975. It was launched from the former Soviet Union. It provided India with the basis of learning satellite technology and designing.During 1975-76, ISRO along with NASA developed means of using space communications system for TV broadcasting. This resulted in the creation of the project Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE). It was a one-year program covering Indian villages and districts. The main purpose of SITE was to experiment usage of satellite broadcasting to educate the masses. SITE, hailed as ‘the largest sociological experiment in the world’ benefited around 200,000 people, covering 2400 villages of six states and transmitted development oriented programmes using the American Technology Satellite (ATS-6).During January 1, 1977 — January 1, 1979, Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP), a joint project of ISRO-and Post and Telegraphs Department (P&T) using the Franco-German Symphonie satellite was taken up. Conceived as a sequel to SITE which focused on Television, STEP was for telecommunication experiments.Bhaskara-I - an experimental satellite for earth observations was launched on June 7, 1979.First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board (August 10, 1979). Satellite could not be placed in orbit. Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) is the first launch vehicle of India.Second Experimental launch of SLV-3, Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit. (July 18, 1980).Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE), an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite was successfully launched on June 19, 1981. It became the forerunner for future communication satellite system.Indian National Satellite system (INSAT)-1A was launched on April 10, 1982. This system was for the communication, broadcasting and meteorology.On April 2, 1984, the first Indo-Soviet manned space mission was launched. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to go into space. He flew aboard in the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11, as part of a three member Soviet-Indian crew.The first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A was launched on March 17, 1988.On March 24, 1987, the first developmental launch of Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) that supported a larger payload than the SLV-3 and was meant to be low-cost happened.Launch of first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A happened on March 17, 1988.Second developmental launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with IRS-P2, on board took place on October 15, 1994. Satellite successfully placed in Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit. PSLV went on to become a favoured carrier for satellites of various countries due to its reliability and cost efficiency, promoting unprecedented international collaboration.The first developmental launch of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-D1 with GSAT-1 on board took off from Sriharikota on April 18, 2001. It was developed keeping in mind the heavier and more demanding Geosynchronous communication satellites.INSAT-4CR weighing 2130 kg and launched by GSLV-F04 on September 2, 2007 is the heaviest satellite launched from India.PSLV-C11 successfully launches CHANDRAYAAN-1 from Sriharikota on October 22, 2008. Chandrayaan-1 is a scientific investigation – by spacecraft – of the Moon. The name Chandrayaan means “Chandra- Moon, Yaan-vehicle”, –in Indian languages (Sanskrit and Hindi) , – the lunar spacecraft. Chandrayaan-1 is the first Indian planetary science and exploration mission. Chandrayaan-1 was operational for 312 days till August 28, 2009.November 5, 2013 - PSLV - C25 successfully launches Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) Spacecraft from Sriharikota.On February 15, 2017, PSLV-C37, the 39th mission of the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO, injected ISRO’s Cartosat-2 Series Satellite weighing 714 kg and two ISRO Nano-satellites namely INS-1A (8.4 kg) & INS-1B (9.7 kg) and 101 Nano-satellites, from six foreign countries into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an orbit of 506 km above earth, with an inclination of 97.46°. The mass of nano-satellites varied from 1 to 10 kg. The total weight of all the 104 satellites carried on-board PSLV-C37 was 1378 kg.PSLV-C38/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite Mission was launched on June 23, 2017 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 40th flight (PSLV-C38), launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation and 30 co-passenger satellites together weighing about 243 kg at lift-off into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).India's latest communication satellite, GSAT-17 was inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system on June 29, 2017 from Kourou, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-238. Weighing 3477 kg at lift-off, GSAT-17 carries Payloads in Normal C-band, Extended C-band and S-band to provide various communication services. GSAT-17 also carries equipment for metereological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites.India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty second flight (PSLV-C40), successfully launched the 710 kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite for earth observation and 30 co-passenger satellites together weighing about 613 kg at lift-off. PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite Mission was launched on Friday, Jan 12, 2018.GSLV-F08 is the 12th flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and Sixth flight with indigenous Cryogenic Stage. GSLV -F08 / GSAT-6A Mission was launched on Thursday, March 29, 2018.India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-third flight (PSLV-C41) in XL configuration launched IRNSS-1I Satellite. The 'XL' configuration of PSLV is used for the twentieth time. The IRNSS-1I is the eighth satellite to join the NavIC navigation satellite constellation and was launched on April 12, 2018.PSLV-C42 Successfully Launches two foreign satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), SHAR, Sriharikota on September 16, 2018. This mission was designed to launch two earth observation satellites, NovaSAR and S1-4 (together weighing nearly 889 kg).PSLV-C43 lifted off on November 29, 2018 from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota and successfully launched India’s Hyper spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) and 30 international co-passenger satellites.India’s next generation high throughput communication satellite, GSAT-11 was successfully launched on December 05, 2018 from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-246. Weighing about 5854 kg, GSAT-11 is the heaviest satellite built by ISRO.Gaganyaan Programme - Cabinet has approved Indian Human Spaceflight Initiative - Gaganyaan Programme.Two unmanned & one manned flight has been planned. Estimates for Phase-I expenditure- Rs 9023 Crores. Gaganyaan Programme will establish a broader framework for collaboration between ISRO, academia, industry, national agencies and other scientific organizations.Year after year ISRO has successfully achieved many arduous targets. In fact, India’s space success can undoubtedly be attributed to the space organization. 2018 was also not different. Have a look at top five record-breaking achievements accomplished by ISRO in 2018.PSLV-C40 successfully places Cartosat-2 in the orbitOn 12th January 2018, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle sets a landmark by successfully launching the 710 kg Cartosat-2 Series Remote Sensing Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites.Cartosat-2 will prove to be quite effective as the imagery sent by satellite will be useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, change detection to bring out geographical and manmade features and various other Land Information System (LIS) as well as Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.Besides Cartosat-2, the PSLV also carries 30 satellites that include two satellites from India and 28 satellites from six countries including Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.Tests Chandrayaan-2 mission rocket’s Cryogenic EngineOn 11th October 2018, ISRO touched another success by testing the cryogenic engine, that would launch the country’s second moon mission on 31st January 2019. The test demonstrated steady state operation of the engine, and performance of all engine subsystems was observed to be normal.The major subsystems of the engine are thrust chamber, gas generator, LOX and LH2 turbopumps, igniters, thrust & mixture ratio control systems, start-up system, control components, and pyro valves.Chandrayaan-2 is ISRO’s one of the most ambitious mission which was scheduled for launch in October 2018, but later postponed for next year.According to ISRO, this mission will use and test various new technologies and conduct new experiments. The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and will perform on-site chemical analysis and the data will be relayed to Earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.GSLV MkIII-D2 successfully launches GSAT-29On 14th November 2018, ISRO achieved this feat too by successfully launching the GSAT-29 communication satellite through GSLV Mk III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle), the heaviest rocket made by ISRO.The GSLV Mk III is India’s most powerful launch vehicle built to lift satellites weighing up to 4,000 kg into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of GSLV Mk II, and more than thrice the capacity of ISRO’s old workhorse PSLV.Looking at global perspective, GSLV Mk III will be seen as the direct competitor of Space X’s Falcon heavy which was launched on 6th February 2018.Launches GSAT-7A satellite that will enhance communications for armed forcesTo give a boost to the defence forces’ communication capabilities, The Indian Space Organization successfully launched the country’s newest satellite GSAT-7A on 19th December 2018. The satellite was carried by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F11 (GSLV-F11) which is the heaviest satellite being launched by GSLV with an indigenously developed cryogenic stage.Built exclusively for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army, GSAT-7A will add to the forces’ communication capabilities by allowing IAF to interlink its ground radar stations, airbases and airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft, and reduce the reliance on on-ground control stations for drones. Other than that, the satellite will also boost the air force’s network-dependent warfare capabilities, enhancing its abilities to operate globally.Getting ready for the human spaceflight programmeISRO is all set and is preparing to create history through Human spaceflight programme. Scientists believe that it will take 40 months to launch this historic mission and to fulfill PM Modi challenge. They hope to use the country’s heaviest rocket – the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III or GSLV Mk-III for the space flight, which has the capacity to launch 10 tonnes of payload into low-Earth orbit- an altitude of 2,000km (1,200 miles) or less above the planet, and is more than enough to send a crew into space.The space agency carried out a successful “pad abort test” in July this year which saw a test vehicle carrying no humans, only a dummy, hurled skywards by a set of powerful in-built thrusters.An Ahmedabad-based laboratory has already developed a space suit for the astronauts. The biggest challenge, according to scientists, will be to train the astronauts and to develop the necessary life support system to keep them alive in space.The total expenditure is estimated to be Rs 10,000cr for this massive projectIndia packs 104 satellites in a launch, makes historyThe PSLV-C37 carried 104 satellites© ISROThe Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made history today (15 Februray 2017) when it launched a record 104 satellites in a single rocket. This is the largest such launch anywhere in the world, the closest second being the 2014 launch of 37 satellites together by the Russian Space Agency.Bettering its own 2015 record of 23 satellites in one rocket, ISRO's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) took off from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh with three Indian and 101 foreign satellites.The PSLV-C37 carried a main satellite 'Cartosat-2' for earth observation weighing 714 kilogram and 103 smaller 'nano satellites' together weighing 664 kilograms. 96 of the nano satellites are from the US alone and the rest from Israel, Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and US, ISRO sources said.Effusively, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "This remarkable feat by ISRO is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation."ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar said the idea was not to break records but to maximise India's capability and optimise returns from each launch. ISRO has been making news with its frugal launches and its growing prowess as a key international player in the private space market.Director of the mission B. Jayakumar said it was a challenge to accommodate all the satellites on the PSLV and ISRO had to design a “unique separation sequence” to take care of the large number.Love ISRO from small staff of NASAThanks for reading this guys. Have a great time ahead