India in Space 29.9.2000

The stamps on the FDC all valued Rs3.00 are: 

OceanSat-1 or IRS-P4 is the first Indian satellite built specifically for Ocean applications. It is a part of the Indian Remote Sensing satellite series. The satellite carried Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) for oceanographic studies.

INSAT-3B is an Indian communications satellite which was built and is operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation. INSAT–3B is the first satellite built under INSAT–3 series of satellites to join INSAT system. It is based on the I-2000 satellite bus. This satellite primarily serves to business communication, mobile communication and developmental communication.it provides the first set to transponders for Swaran Jayanti Vidya Vikas Antariksh Upagraha Yojana (Vidya Vahini) for interactive training and developmental communication giving fillip to the training and developmental Communication channel of INSAT.

The other two se-tennant stamps portray a futuristic scenario of India in Space Exploration.

IRS-1A 19.3.1991

IRS-1A was the first remote sensing mission undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It was a half-operational, half-experimental mission to develop indigenous expertise in satellite imagery. IRS-1A was the first remote sensing mission undertaken by ISRO to provide imagery for various land-based applications. The mission's long-term objective was to develop indigenous remote sensing capability.

The IRS system is the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites for civilian use in operation today in the world, with 12 operational satellites. All these are placed in polar Sun-synchronous orbit and provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. Indian Remote Sensing Programme completed its 25 years of successful operations on March 17, 2013.

INDO-SOVIET JOINT MANNED SPACE FLIGHT 3.4.1984

INDO-SOVIET JOINT MANNED SPACE FLIGHT. The Indo-Soviet Joint Manned Space Flight launching the first Indian into space takes place from 3rd April, 1984 to 11th April, 1984. This mission is the outcome of the agreement signed between the Government of India and USSR for the participation of an Indian Cosmonaut in the joint manned space flight to be launched by USSR in April 1984. Sqn. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma, an outstanding test pilot of the Indian Air Force, will become the first Indian to go into space when he alongwith two other Soviet cosmonauts orbits the earth for eight days during the Joint Indo-Soviet Manned Space Flight. Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma and Wing Commander Ravish Malhotra were the two Indian Air Force officers selected through a rigorous process of selection for training at Yuri Gagarian Centre, both have qualified to make the space flight. Two sets of crew have been formed, of which one will be the main crew who will actually participate in the space flight and the other will be standing by. The main crew for the mission is Col Yuri Malyshev- pilot cosmonaut and Commander, Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma- Researcher Cosmonaut and Mr. Gennady Sterkalov- Engineer Cosmonaut.

The stamp depicts the Soviet SALYUT-7 space station with SOYUZ space ships docked on either side of SALYUT-7. The first day cover symbolically depicts the Sun Chariot and the flags of India and the USSR.

APPLE SATELLITE (ARIANE Passenger Payload Experiment)

The stamp shows the APPLE satellite in Orbit. The first day cover depicts an Earth Station.

APPLE SATELLITE. The successful launching of APPLE (ARIANE Passenger Payload Experiment), India's first three-axis stabilised experimental communication satellite, using ARIANE launcher, on June 19, 1981, marks an important milestone in India's space programme. By positioning the APPLE Spacecraft in the three-axis stabilised mode in the geostationary orbit at 102'E longitude on July 16, 1981 after carrying out complicated mission manoeuvres, India joined the ranks of nations who have developed their own three-axis stabilised stationary communication satellite. 

  

The APPLE Utilisation Programme was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister on August 13, 1981, through a nationwide TV hookup via APPLE. Under APPLE utilisation programme a number of communication experiments are being carried out in cooperation with Posts and Telegraphs, Doordarshan, TIFR and others. APPLE has enabled experimentation in the advanced communications technology and has established expertise in the design, fabrication, launch and complicated post launch mission manoevres for placing and maintaining such a satellite in the geo-stationary orbit.

Indian Space Research Achievement - Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV3

Stamp design is based on a photograph at the Vikram Sarabhai Space center) of SLV-3 lifting off from the launch pad along with artist?s impression of the Rohini satellite. The First Day Cover shows SLV-3 being transported to the launcher (Photo : Courtesy of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre).  

The Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV was a project started in the early 1970s by the Indian Space Research Organisation to develop the technology needed to launch satellites. The project was headed by APJ Abdul Kalam. SLV was intended to reach a height of 400 km and carry a payload of 40 kg.

It was a four-stage rocket with all solid-propellant motors.

The first launch of the SLV took place in Sriharikota on 10 August 1979. The fourth and final launch of the SLV took place on 17 April 1983.

Aryabhata - India's first artificial satellite

Aryabhata was India's first satellite, named after an Indian astronomer of the same name.

It was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to gain experience in building and operating a satellite in space. The launch came from an agreement between India and the Soviet Union directed by U.R. Rao and signed in 1972. It allowed the USSR to use India ports for tracking ships and launching vessels in return for launching India satellites.

On 19 April 1975 the satellite's 96.46-minute orbit had an apogee of 611 kilometres (380 mi) and a perigee of 568 kilometres (353 mi), at an inclination of 50.6 degrees. It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polyhedron 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) in diameter. All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells. A power failure halted experiments after four days and 60 orbits with all signals from the spacecraft lost after five days of operation. According the Soviet media reports, the satellite continued to function and transmit information for some time. The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 11 February 1992.

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai - 1st Death Anniversary 1972

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist.
He is considered the father of India's space programme.
The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian Sputnik  launch. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space programme in his quote:
"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight."
"But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."
Dr. Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Trivandrum on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963 with a sodium vapour payload.

The Man on the Moon - Apollo 11 1969

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Armstrong spent about two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less, and together they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. The third member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth.

Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a Command Module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that landed back on Earth; a Service Module (SM), which supported the Command Module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module (LM) for landing on the Moon. After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed a total of about 21½ hours on the lunar surface. After lifting off in the upper part of the Lunar Module and rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Broadcast on live TV to a world-wide audience, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the U.S. President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the U.S. Congress: "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

The stamp on the displayed FDC depicts a man on the moon with the Lunar Module and the Earth in the background.