The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established by India's first prime minister

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

under the

Department of Atomic Energy The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) (IAST: ''Paramāṇu Ūrjā Vibhāga'') is an Indian government department with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. DAE was established in 1954 with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first minister and Homi ...

(DAE) in 1962, on the suggestion of the scientist

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Often regarded as the "''Father of Indian space program''", Sar ...

, recognising the need in space research. It committed to formulate the Indian Space Programme. At the time, the committee was part of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a leading research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is a public deemed university located at Navy Nagar, Colaba in Mumbai. It also has a centres in ...

. The committee took over the responsibilities of the

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 Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is India's first rocket launching station and was established on 21 November 1963. Operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, which ...

(TERLS) at

Thumba Thumba is a coastal area of Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of Kerala, India. Location and geography Thumba is a vast village bordering Menamkulam in the east, St. Dominic's Vettucaud in the north, and Kochuthura in the south; towards its ...

on the southern tip of India.

IOFS The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted (Group A) defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. They are responsible for the administration of the Indian ...

officers were drawn from the

Indian Ordnance Factories The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructio ...

to harness their knowledge of propellants and advanced light materials used to build rockets.

H.G.S. Murthy Holenarasipura Govindrao Srinivasa Murthy was an IOFS officer and a space scientist. He was known as one of the "Seven Pioneers of the Indian Space Programme". He served at the Ordnance Factory Board, Machine Tool Prototype Factory (MTPF), Ambern ...

, an IOFS officer, was appointed the first director of the

, where

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

s were fired, marking the start of upper atmospheric research in India. An indigenous series of sounding rockets named

Rohini Rohini may refer to: People * Rohini (given name), including a list of persons and characters with the name * Rohini (actress) (born 1969), Indian actress, screenwriter, and director * Rohini (Buddha's disciple), female disciple * Rohini (goddes ...

was subsequently developed and started undergoing launches from 1967 onwards.

Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan (30 January 1917 – 27 July 2007) was an IOFS officer, nuclear chemist, defence scientist and an expert in the science of Explosives engineering. He was the founder director of the Explosives Research and Developm ...

, another IOFS officer, developed the propellant for the rockets.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( ; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Kala ...

(who later became the President of India) was amongst the initial team of

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

engineers forming the INCOSPAR. On 15 August 1969, INCOSPAR was superseded by the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...

(ISRO).

References

See also