Aug 11, 2025: Space agency Chairman V Narayanan stated on Sunday that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would launch a 6,500 kilogram communication satellite built by the United States in the coming months, following a modest beginning for the Indian space program with a tiny rocket supplied by the United States. ISRO would launch another satellite for the United States following the historic July 30 launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission aboard a GSLV-F16 rocket, he stated at an event near Chennai. Narayanan, who is also the secretary of Department of Space, was presented with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan during the 21st convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology at Kattankulathur near Chennai.
Narayanan recalled that the country was six years behind advanced nations when the ISRO was established in 1963. The beginning of the Indian space program was marked by the donation of a small rocket by the United States in the same year. He stated, "It was on November 21, 1963." He claimed that ISRO demonstrated "mass communication" in 1975 by maintaining 2,400 television sets in 2,400 villages across six Indian states using US satellite data. “From that (kind of humble beginnings), July 30 was a historical day for the Indian space programme. The NISAR satellite was launched by us. The world's most expensive satellite ever built. The S Band payload provided by ISRO and the US L Band SAR payload. The Indian launcher (GSLV) precisely placed the satellite in orbit. And right now, we're right there with advanced nations,” Narayanan said.