Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was founded in 1969 to develop an independent Indian space program. Its headquarters are in Bangalore. ISRO’s chief executive is a chairman, who is also chairman of the Indian government’s Space Commission and the secretary of the Department of Space.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) operates through a countrywide network of centres. Sensors and payloads are developed at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. Satellites are designed, developed, assembled, and tested at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (formerly the ISRO Satellite Centre) in Bangalore. Launch vehicles are developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Launches take place at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island, near Chennai. The Master Control Facilities for geostationary satellite station keeping are located at Hassan and Bhopal. Reception and processing facilities for remote-sensing data are at the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad. ISRO’s commercial arm is Antrix Corporation, which has its headquarters in Bangalore.
In 1979, ISRO conducted the first tests of its own homegrown orbital rocket, the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3). The four-stage vehicle was capable of placing payloads up to 88 lbs. (40 kilograms) into orbit. SLV-3 successfully launched for the first time on July 18, 1980, making India the sixth nation to achieve spaceflight. It carried the Rohini-1 satellite, an experimental satellite developed to test components that could be used in space.
ISRO has launched several space systems, including the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system for telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorology, and disaster warning and the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for resource monitoring and management. The first INSAT was launched in 1988, and the program expanded to include geosynchronous satellites called GSAT. The first IRS satellite was also launched in 1988, and the program developed more-specialized satellites, including the Radar Imaging Satellite-1 (RISAT-1, launched in 2012) and the Satellite with Argos and Altika (SARAL, launched in 2013), a joint Indian-French mission that measures ocean wave heights. ISRO subsequently developed three other rockets: the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for putting satellites into polar orbit, the Geostationary Space Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbit, and a heavy-lift version of the GSLV called the GSLV Mark III or LVM. Those rockets launched communications satellites and Earth-observation satellites as well as missions to the Moon (Chandrayaan-1, 2008; Chandrayaan-2, 2019) and Mars (Mars Orbiter Mission, 2013). ISRO plans to put astronauts into orbit in 2021.
Raja Ramanna Center for Atomic Technology (RRCAT)
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology is a unit of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, engaged in R & D in non-nuclear front line research areas of Lasers, Particle Accelerators & related technologies.
RRCAT was established by the Department of Atomic Energy, India to expand the activities carried out at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, in two frontline areas of science and technology namely Lasers and Accelerators.
On February 19, 1984 the President of India, Gyani Zail Singh, laid the foundation stone of the centre. Construction of laboratories and houses began in May 1984. In June 1986, the first batch of scientists from BARC, Mumbai, moved to RRCAT and scientific activities were started. Since then, the centre has rapidly grown into a premier institute for research and development in lasers, accelerators and their applications.
The RRCAT campus is spread over a 760 hectare picturesque site on the outskirts of Indore city. The campus encompasses laboratories, staff housing colony and other basic amenities like school, sports facilities, shopping complex, gardens etc.
The Centre has indigenously designed, developed, and commissioned two synchrotron radiation sources: Indus-1 and Indus-2, serving as a national facility. Indus-1 is a 450 MeV, 100 mA electron storage ring emitting radiation from mid-IR to soft x-ray with a critical wavelength of ~61 Å. Indus-2 is a 2.5 GeV electron storage ring designed for the production of x-rays. Synchrotron radiation emitted from its bending magnets has broad spectrum covering soft and hard x-ray regions with a critical wavelength of ~2 Å. With its circumference of 172.5 m, and beam energy of 2.5 GeV, Indus-2 is presently the largest and the highest energy particle accelerator in the country.
The Centre is pursuing several other key accelerator activities viz. development of a high energy proton accelerator for a spallation neutron source, electron accelerators for food irradiation and industrial applications, free electron lasers (FEL) in terahertz (THz) and infra-red (IR) spectral region, superconducting and magnetic materials required for accelerators, development of advanced technologies such as superconducting radio-frequency (SCRF) cavities and cryomodules, high power radio-frequency (RF) generators, cryogenics, magnets, ultrahigh vacuum, precision fabrication and control instrumentation to support the various R&D programmes.
The Centre is also involved in development of a variety of laser systems and their utilization for applications in industry, medicine and research. The laser systems developed include high power CO2 lasers, flash lamp and diode laser pumped Nd lasers, semiconductor lasers, chemical lasers, excimer lasers and high energy/intensity pulsed lasers. Crystals of a variety of materials of interest to laser technology have been grown. The industrial applications being pursued include cutting, drilling, welding, surface modifications and rapid manufacturing. Various laser based instruments such as uranium analyzer, land leveler, compact N2 laser, photo-coagulator, fibre based temperature sensor, surgical CO2 laser system have been developed. Home-made and commercial lasers are being used for research in the areas of laser plasma interaction, laser-based charged particle acceleration, laser cooling and trapping of atoms, nonlinear optics, ultra-fast dynamics, material processing, laser fluorescence spectroscopy of tissues, effects of narrow bandwidth light on cells and animal models, imaging through turbid media, laser micromanipulation of microscopic objects etc.
Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) Shriharikota
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, the Spaceport of India, is responsible for providing Launch Base Infrastructure for the Indian Space Programme. This Centre has the facilities for solid propellant processing, static testing of solid motors, launch vehicle integration and launch operations, range operations comprising telemetry, tracking and command network and mission control centre. The Centre has two launch pads from where the rocket launching operations of PSLV and GSLV are carried out. The mandate for the centre is
- To produce solid propellant boosters for the launch vehicle programmes of ISRO
- To provide the infrastructure for qualifying various subsystems and solid rocket motors and carrying out the necessary tests
- To provide launch base infrastructure for satellites and launch vehicles. SDSC SHAR has a separate launch pad for launching sounding rockets.
The centre also provides the necessary launch base infrastructure for sounding rockets of ISRO and for assembly, integration and launch of sounding rockets and payloads.
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
The DRDO was formed in 1958 following the merge of the Technical Development Establishment (TDE) of the Indian Army, the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) and the Defence Science Organisation (DSO). DRDO laboratories conduct research in a number of fields, such as aeronautics, rockets and missiles, electronics and instrumentation, combat vehicles, engineering, naval systems, armament technology including explosives research, terrain research, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, works study, systems analysis, and life sciences, including high-altitude agriculture, physiology, food technology, and nuclear medicine.
In addition, DRDO laboratories give technical advice regarding formulation of requirements, evaluation of systems to be acquired, fire and explosive safety, and mathematical and statistical analysis of operational problems. The DRDO has been working on the Integrated Guided Missile Development program. The program consists of five missile systems: Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag, and Agni. The Prithvi SS-150 and Agni missile systems are believed to have the capability to carry chemical warheads.
DRDO laboratories are suspected of developing and maintaining India’s chemical weapons. Stockpiles of these weapons are believed to be stored at DRDO facilities in Gwalior and Nashik. The DRDO serves as a training center for doctors, forensic scientists, and police personnel who will be the first responders in a chemical or biological attack.
The DRDO has developed suits that include a facelet, a haversack, gloves, overboots, respirators, leak tester, integrated hood mask, and canister neelkantha ‘A’ to protect personnel from a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack. In addition, DRDO has developed chemical detection systems such as a residual vapor detection kit, a three-color detector paper, a water poison detection kit, a portable gas chromatograph, and a nerve agent detector.
DRDO laboratories have developed numerous other pieces of equipment for the Armed Services. Such items include flight simulators for aircraft, 68mm reusable rocket pod, brake parachute for fighter aircrafts, mini remote piloted vehicles, light field guns, a new family of light weight small arms systems, and charge line mine clearing vehicles. In addition, it has developed such weapons as cluster weapon systems for fighter aircraft, naval mines, a new generation of bombs for high-speed aircraft and low-level bombing, a mountain gun, a 130mm SP gun, a low-level tracking radar (Indra I and II) for the Army and the Air Force, battlefield surveillance and secondary surveillance radar, a bridge-layer-tank, military bridging systems capable of withstanding a tank load, advanced ship sonar systems, advanced sonobuoys, naval decoys, naval simulators, torpedo launchers, advanced materials and composites for military use, and a parallel processing computer for aerodynamic computations.
Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Mumbai
Nuclear research in India began in 1945 with the founding of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the leadership of Homi Jehangir Bhabha. With the creation in 1954 of the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Bhabha and all scientists working on programs of direct relevance to applications of nuclear power were transferred from TIFR to Trombay. After the death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash in 1966, the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay was renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC). Today, BARC is India’s primary research and development institution focused on indigenous nuclear power and other applications of nuclear technology. The staff of BARC conducts research in almost every aspect of nuclear technology. Although many of these research projects have civilian applications, BARC also plays a leading role in India’s nuclear weapon program. As stated in the DAE’s 2000-2001 Annual Report, “BARC has contributed immensely towards national security by demonstrating a nuclear deterrent capability.”
BARC has been tasked with developing the technological independence needed to fulfill India’s strategy for nuclear energy. This strategy envisions a closed fuel cycle involving the reprocessing of spent fuel from India’s Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to provide plutonium for India’s Fast Breeder Reactor (FBRs). BARC is also attempting to develop Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) utilizing thorium based fuel with a small feed of plutonium. The final stage of India’s nuclear strategy, calls for the development of “dedicated breeder reactors based on uranium-233 and thorium” in order to take advantage of India’s vast thorium deposits. Much of the technology involved in the proposed fuel cycle raises proliferation concerns as its continual source of unsafeguarded fissile material for nuclear weapons.
BARC maintains eight research reactors (Apsara, Cirus, Dhruva, Zerlina, Purnima-I, Purnima-II, Purnima-III, and Kamini) and is engaged in reactor design and development (including thorium and MOX-fueled Advanced Heavy Water Reactors and Fast Breeder Reactors), radioisotope production; plants for the manufacture of uranium metal and nuclear fuels; fuel reprocessing; waste immobilization; seismic stations; basic research in materials, physical, chemical and biological sciences; radiochemistry and isotope laboratories; pilot plants for the production of heavy water, zirconium and titanium production; and a thorium plant. BARC has also been active in the following weapons related projects:
- A detritium process that extracts tritium from the heavy water used as a moderator in India’s PHWRs. The extracted tritium can then be used to build a thermonuclear weapon.
- The Cirus reactor provided the plutonium for the 1974 nuclear test. The Dhruva Reactor is the primary generator of weapons-grade plutonium-bearing spent fuel. It is estimated that the reactor produces an average of 16-24kg of weapons-grade plutonium per year in its spent fuel. A
- pilot plant at Trombay was established for the enrichment of Boron-10 to 80 percent purity. The many nuclear applications of Boron-10 include controlling criticality in nuclear weapons storage sites, reactors, plutonium reprocessing plants and nuclear storage facilities.
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
Pre-independence India’s scientific achievements were far ahead of its industrial successes. This was unusual for any country at that time, but there remained the need to improve India’s scientific temper and strengthen the newly free nation’s science infrastructure. These were the objectives that drove Homi J Bhabha and JRD Tata to pursue their vision of establishing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) back in 1945.
TIFR became the cradle of the country’s atomic energy endeavour. The Institute wasn’t just about science; it was also about discovering and delivering the benefits drawn from science to Indian society. Given that there was little scientific and industrial infrastructure at the time, TIFR came to play a crucial role.
The building of TIFR was quite interesting. Everything was done in-house, including the carpentry and such. We were at the frontiers of science, which meant that we had to create our own infrastructure. The fundamental research we were involved in then was of the atypical kind.
TIFR have done a large amount of experimental research that has blossomed into trend-setting initiatives. For instance, India’s first digital computer was crafted at TIFR, back in 1957. This was a significant success by any yardstick.
In the years immediately following independence, India’s goal was self-reliance. But, in terms of self-reliance there is a difference between science and technology. If you don’t have a particular technology, you can try and develop it to, say, build a car indigenously. TIFR now functions differently, and so it must. If it does not it will be frozen in an earlier time, which means it would fail in its mission. Some of Institute’s activities have changed down the years and this process will continue.
National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL)
The National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) is an autonomous Research Institute funded by the Department of Space of the Government of India. NARL is engaged in fundamental and applied research in the field of Atmospheric Sciences. The research institute was started in 1992 as National Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar Facility (NMRF). Over the years many other facilities such as Mie/Rayleigh Lidar, Lower atmospheric wind profiler, optical rain gauge, disdrometer, automated weather stations etc. were added. The NMRF was then expanded into a research institute and renamed as National Atmospheric Research Laboratory on 22 September 2005.
Liquid Propulsion System Center (LPSC), Bengluru
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is the lead Centre for development and realization of earth-to-orbit advanced propulsion stages for Launch Vehicles and also the in-space propulsion systems for Spacecrafts. The LPSC activities and facilities are spread across its two campuses viz., LPSC Headquarters and Design Offices at Valiamala/Thiruvananthapuram, and Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Unit at LPSC, Bangalore/Karnataka. LPSC is vested with the responsibility of design, development and system engineering of high performance Space Propulsion Systems employing Earth Storable and Cryogenic Propellants for ISRO’s Launch Vehicles and Satellites. Development of fluid control valves, transducers, propellant management devices and other key components of Liquid Propulsion Systems are also under the purview of LPSC.
LPSC Valiamala is the Centre Headquarters, responsible for R & D, System Design/Engineering and Project Management functions. The Fluid Control Components Entity and the Materials & Mechanical Engineering Entity are located here apart from the Earth Storable & Cryogenic Propulsion Entities, handling the core tasks of the Centre.
LPSC Bangalore focuses on satellite propulsion. Design & Realisation of Propulsion Systems, integration of spacecraft propulsion systems for Remote Sensing and Communication satellites, Development and production of transducers / sensors are other major activities at LPSC, Bangalore. Fabrication of launch vehicle stage tanks and structure at ASD/HAL is also coordinated and managed by LHWC at Bangalore.
Space Application Center (SAC), Ahmedabad
Space Applications Centre (SAC) at Ahmedabad is spread across two campuses having multi-disciplinary activities. The core competence of the Centre lies in development of space borne and air borne instruments / payloads and their applications for national development and societal benefits. These applications are in diverse areas and primarily meet the communication, navigation and remote sensing needs of the country. Besides these, the Centre also contributed significantly in scientific and planetary missions of ISRO like Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, etc. The communication transponders developed at this Centre for Indian National Satellite (INSAT) and Geo Synchronous Satellite (GSAT) series of satellites are used by government and private sector for VSAT, DTH, Internet, broadcasting, telephones etc.
Main Engine and Stage Test Facility at IPRC This centre also designs and develops the optical and microware sensors for the satellites, signal and image processing software, GIS software and many applications for Earth Observation (EO) programme of ISRO. These applications are in diverse areas of Geosciences, Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change, Physical Oceanography, Biological Oceanography, Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Hydrosphere, etc. The facilities at SAC include highly sophisticated payload integration laboratories, electronic and mechanical fabrication facilities, environmental test facilities, systems reliability / assurance group, image processing and analysis facilities, project management support group and a well-stocked library. SAC has active collaborations with industry, academia, national and international institutes for research and development. The Centre also conducts nine-month post graduate diploma courses for students from the Asia Pacific region under the aegis of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (CSSTE-AP) in satellite meteorology and communication.
Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN)
Indian DSN (IDSN) facility is situated at Byalalu village near Bengaluru. There are three antennas: 11 meter antenna, 18 meter antenna and 32 meter antenna. These are used for communication with deep space exploration spacecrafts. The 18 m antenna was mainly built for Chandrayaan-1 mission. 32 m antenna is used for communication with probe like Mangalyaan.
Heart of the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), the monster antenna is the only link between Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft orbiting the Moon some 380,000 kilometers away and the team of ISRO scientists at the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) located at Peenya in Bangalore.
Chandrayaan-1 is continuously tracked by a worldwide network of ground stations belonging to ISTRAC and space agencies of USA, Russia and Brazil. Ground stations in this network are located in Bangalore, Trivandrum, Port Blair, Lucknow and Sriharikota in India; Mauritius, Brunei, Biak (Indonesia), Cuba, Alcantara (Brazil), and Bears Lake (Russia); and Maryland, Hawaii, and Goldstone (California) of USA.
The IDSN is the first of its kind in the country which provides ISRO the capability to handle deep space missions of India and also provide cross-support to similar missions of other space agencies because of its inter-operable features and world standard specifications and state-of-the-art capabilities.
The project was executed under the supervision of ISTRAC with the public sector Electronics Corporation of India as the prime contractor and participation six other companies including Godrej & Boyce, Larsen & Toubro, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore designed the radio frequency system and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai developed the antenna control servo system.
Indian Space Science Data Center(ISSDC), Ramanagara
The Indian Space Science Data Center (ISSDC) is located at the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) Byalalu campus of ISTRAC/ISRO. ISSDC provides data ingestion, processing, archival and dissemination services to the global science community for the science missions of ISRO. ISSDC is designed to provide high computation, high capacity storage, and high bandwidth network and for secure hosting of variety of applications necessary to support all the planetary, lunar and space science missions of ISRO. ISSDC has a multi-layered architecture considering the multitude dimensions of mission requirements where each and every layer is scalable, resilient and flexible enough to serve requirements of current & future planetary and space science missions. The primary users of this facility are the principal investigators of the science payloads. In addition to them, the data is made accessible to the scientists from other institutions and also to the general public.
Presently, ISSDC is involved in the following major activities:
- In AstroSat, ISSDC has played major role in bringing all the scientific institutions such as TIFR, RRI, IIA, and IUCAA to a nodal place for the harvesting of scientific data from AstroSat. At present, various activities are happening at this centre in engaging the Scientists and general public for the data utilisation from AstroSat.
- In Megha-Tropiques, ISSDC is acting as real-time processing centre to provide the data needs of weather forecasting and atmospheric modeling institutes in India, France and USA. ISSDC has played an important role in the operationalisation of Systems Applications and Products (SAP) data.
Recently, ISSDC has released the MOM data sets belonging to the First Year of Martian Orbit. MOM Long Term Archive (LTA) is hosted to the general public and has received overwhelming response. ISSDC has hosted 1603 products acquired during the First Year of MOM operations in Martian Orbit from all the five instruments of the satellite. ISSDC has the major challenges ahead to provide mission support for the upcoming lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, Solar mission Aditya-L1 and other future planetary and scientific missions of ISRO. To cater to the needs of a variety of missions, ISSDC has the state-of-the-art infrastructure of Storage, Processing Servers, Communication Network and advanced computation applications.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC)
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, is the lead centre of ISRO responsible for the design and development of launch vehicle technology. The Centre pursues active research and development in the fields of aeronautics, avionics, materials, mechanisms, vehicle integration, chemicals, propulsion, space ordnance, structures, space physics and systems reliability. The Centre undertakes crucial responsibilities of design, manufacturing, analysis, development and testing related to the realisation of subsystems for the different missions. These are sustained by activities towards programme. Planning and evaluation, technology transfer, industry coordination, human resources development and safety. Planning, execution and maintenance of all civil works related to the Centre is also carries out. The Centre depends on administrative and auxiliary services for support. VSSC has extension Centres at Valiamala housing major facilities of mechanisms, vehicle integration and testing and at Vattiyoorkavu for the development of composites.
The Ammonium Perchlorate Experimental Plant (APEP) has been set up by VSSC at Aluva near Kochi. The major programmes at VSSC include Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and Rohini Sounding Rockets as well as the development of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk Ill, Reusable Launch Vehicles, advanced technology vehicles, air-breathing propulsion and critical technologies towards human spaceflight.
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruananthpuram
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), situated at Thiruvananthapuram is a Deemed to be University under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. IIST functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Space, Government of India. The idea of such an institute was mooted keeping in mind the need for high quality manpower for the Indian Space Research Organization, one of world’s leading scientific organizations engaged in space research and space applications. The institute is the first of its kind in the country, to offer high quality education at the undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels on areas with special focus to space sciences, space technology and space applications. IIST was formally inaugurated on 14 September 2007 by Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, the then Chairman, ISRO and was temporarily housed in the premises of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, very close from where ISRO built and launched its first rocket. Both the founding fathers of the institute, Dr G Madhavan Nair and Dr B.N. Suresh, the latter being the first Director of IIST, played a very important role in the formation of the institute, facilitating its establishment and contributing to its vision.
National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), Hyderabad
National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) at Hyderabad is responsible for remote sensing satellite data acquisition and processing, data dissemination, aerial remote sensing and decision support for disaster management. NRSC has a data reception station at Shadnagar near Hyderabad for acquiring data from Indian remote sensing satellites as well as others. NRSC Ground station at Shadnagar acquires Earth Observation data from Indian remote-sensing satellites as well as from different foreign satellites. NRSC is also engaged in executing remote sensing application projects in collaboration with the users. The Aerial Services and Digital Mapping (ASDM) Area provides end-to-end Aerial Remote Sensing services and value-added solutions for various large scale applications like aerial photography and digital mapping, infrastructure planning, scanner surveys, aeromagnetic surveys, large scale base map, topographic and cadastral level mapping, etc. Regional Remote Sensing Centres (RRSCs) support various remote sensing tasks specific to their regions as well as at the national level. RRSCs are carrying out application projects encompassing all the fields of natural resources. RRSCs are also, involved in software development, customisation and packaging specific to user requirements and conducting regular training programmes for users in geo-spatial technology, particularly digital image processing and Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.
NRSC operates through multiple campuses to meet national and regional remote sensing data and applications needs of the country.
- Main Campus at Balanagar,Hyderabad for Administration, Remote Sensing Applications and Aerial Services.
- The Campus at Shadnagar for Satellite Data Reception, Data Processing and Dissemination, Earth and Climate Studies and Disaster Management Support
- Five Regional Centres at Sector 9,KBHB in Jodhpur (Regional Centre-West), Sadhiknagar at New Delhi (Regional Centre-North), New Salt Lake City in Kolkata (Regional Centre-East), Amaravathy Road in Nagpur (Regional Centre-Central), Karthik Nagar in Bangalore (Regional Centre-South) for promoting remote sensing applications for various states.
- Outreach facility at Jeedimetla in Hyderabad for providing training for professionals, faculty and students and for general outreach.
- Aircraft operations facility at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradoon
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) under Indian Space Research Organisation, Department of Space, Govt. of India is a premier Training and Educational Institute set up for developing trained professionals in the field of Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics and GPS Technology for Natural Resources, Environmental and Disaster Management.
It functions as a constituent Unit of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space, Government of India. Formerly known as Indian Photo-interpretation Institute (IPI), founded in 1966, the Institute boasts to be the first of its kind in entire South-East Asia. While nurturing its primary endeavour to build capacity among the user community by training mid-career professionals, the Institute has enhanced its capability and evolved many training & education programmes that are tuned to meet the requirements of various target groups, ranging from fresh graduates to policy makers including academia.
The Institute campus also houses the headquarters of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and The Pacific (CSSTEAP), affiliated to the United Nations and first of its kind established in the region in 1995. IIRS provides support to conduct all its remote sensing and GIS training & education programmes at postgraduate level. The headquarters of Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), the largest non-governmental scientific society in the country, is also located in the Institute campus.