42 years since launch of India's first satellite 'Aryabhata'
India's first satellite 'Aryabhata' was launched on April 19, 1975, by a Russian rocket. The 360-kg indigenous satellite cost around â¹3 crore to make and spent 17 years in Earth's orbit. Named after the 5th-century Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata, the satellite was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy and solar physics.