PUSHED TO THE MARGIN
* Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre has 128 Muslim officers
* Sixteen Muslims among the ISRO Propulsion Complex’s 671 officials
* Satish Dhawan Space Centre has 66 Muslims among 2,091 officials
* Twenty-five Muslim officials at the National Remote Sensing Centre
THE Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a key constituent of Department of Space (DOS), and its 15 related organisations/centres specialising in space-based operations, exploration and research, and development of space technologies and applications, had on their rolls 339 Muslims out of 13,463 scientists, technicians and specialists in aerospace, aero structural welding, Pyro, Destructive testing, NDT, CNC, and avionics, as of mid-2025.
At the ISRO itself, there were 33 Muslim scientists, engineers, and technicians out of a total of 998 as of January 2023, according to Mohammed Abdul Mannan’s new book, At the Bottom of the Ladder: State of the Indian Muslims –https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GF1Q9R25 – which quantifies Muslim presence in 150 key organisations, including Union ministries, departments, and other organisations.
Out of 348 other administrative staff, 15 are Muslims. Thiruvananthapuram-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is one of the largest research and development establishments within the ISRO, with a focus on rocket and space vehicles. VSSC, the lead centre for space transportation systems, has competence in launch vehicle development with heavy lift capabilities, achieving partial and full reusability, and making progress in scramjet engine research. All these developments require interdisciplinary research and development in areas, including aeronautics, structures, propulsion, avionics, chemicals, and materials.
VSSC is an entirely indigenous facility working on the development of sounding rockets, the Rohini and Menaka launchers, and SLV, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 families of launch vehicles. None of its 15 directors since 1972 has been a Muslim, as is the case with 11 chairpersons, who include Dr Vikram A Sarabhai for a decade since 1963. It currently has on its rolls 4,317 officers, including 128 Muslims, over three-quarters of them scientists and engineers.
The ISRO Propulsion Complex (LPSC) near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, a major testing hub of the ISRO’s liquid propulsion systems and research for the development of liquid propulsion systems for satellites and satellite launch vehicles, has seen 26 directors since 1985 without a single Muslim occupying the post. Its 671 officials include 16 Muslims, mostly scientists and engineers at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centres at Kerala and Bengaluru.
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, dubbed as the ‘Spaceport of India’, provides world-class launch-base infrastructure for national and international customers in accomplishing diverse launch vehicle/satellite missions for remote sensing, communication, navigation and scientific purposes. It has 2,091 officials of whom 66 are Muslims, mostly technical and specialised hands.
The centre currently has three functioning launch pads used for launching sounding rockets, polar satellites, and geosynchronous satellites. The U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) is a leading organisation of the ISRO responsible for design, development, assembly and integration of communication, navigation, remote sensing, scientific and small satellite missions.
It has built more than 90 complex and advanced satellites for various applications in areas of telecommunications, television broadcasting, VSAT services, tele-medicine, tele-education, navigation, weather forecasting, disaster warning, search and rescue operations, earth observations, natural resource management, scientific and space science. None of its 11 directors since 1976 had been a Muslim.
Currently, the URSC Council’s 11 members include a Muslim, Imtiyaz Ahmad, who heads the Special Projects Program Office (SPPO). There are no Muslims among the three other officials at the council, as is the case with four RTI officials. As of August 2025, URSC has 2,382 officials, including 69 Muslims who include scientists, technicians, engineers, and administration specialists. Between August 1979 and July 2025, there have been 102 launches from the SDSC SHAR in Sriharikota.
Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC), one of the major ISRO hubs that focuses on the design of space-borne instruments for its missions and development of applications of space technology, has not seen any Muslim among its 13 directors since 1973, as is the case with eight DECU directors from 1983 onwards. Currently, it has on its rolls 1,857 officials, including 27 Muslims, mostly technicians, specialists, and scientists. It was in 1966 that the Ahmedabad earth station (Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station (ESCES) was built by the late Dr Vikram A Sarabhai.
Presently, the SAC operates and maintains two earth stations, one at Ahmedabad and another at Delhi. These earth stations have a SAC-ISRO SATCOM infrastructure resource that provides hub/gateway support to the users. The SAC is developing various communication and navigation applications like MSS services, FSS services, DTH, Disaster management, Railways’ real-time information system (RTIS), and Q/V/Ka band experiments.
The organisation is designing and developing various types of user terminals and ground systems. India, being an important user of satellite broadband applications, has launched HTS satellites GSAT-19, GSAT-11, and GSAT-29. The SAC is working to ensure the new technology payloads and also complete its indigenisation efforts for the indigenous Atomic Clock and TWTA. During 2020-2030, SAC and NRSC are working towards ensuring the collection, processing, and on-demand delivery of satellite data services in line with user expectations.
At the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), there are a total of 25 Muslims among 822 officials. The NRSC is one of the primary centres of the ISRO that has the mandate to set up ground stations for receiving satellite data, generating data products, developing remote sensing applications, and providing geospatial services for good governance. The ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) has been providing the ground segment support for ISRO’s low-earth orbit and interplanetary space missions, regional navigation and launch vehicle missions, along with designing and developing weather radars.
The ISTRAC plays a key role in providing the ground segment for ISRO’s low-earth orbit and interplanetary space missions. It has established the Spacecraft Control Centres, TTC Ground Station Networks across the globe, Deep Space Network, Ground Segment for Navigation Mission, including one-way ranging stations, two-way CDMA ranging stations, and a precise timing facility, and Space Science Data Centre. It also designs and develops weather radars in multiple frequencies, Search and Rescue Operations, and hub services for Satellite Communication Networks.
The ISTRAC staff are responsible for providing ground segment support for ISRO’s space missions, including satellite and launch vehicle operations, tracking satellites, receiving telemetry data, and sending commands. None of its 19 senior management officials is a Muslim. Among Muslim officials is Asif Siddiqui, General Manager in Uttar Pradesh operations.
Andhra Pradesh-based National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NAFL), an autonomous research institute funded by the Union government’s Department of Space, is engaged in fundamental and applied research in the field of atmospheric sciences. The NARL has seen five directors since 1988, of whom none had been a Muslim. It has over 520 officials and specialists on its rolls. Among 43 officials in its nine specialised groups is a Muslim, Dr Shaikh Ghouse Basha, a scientist-engineer. Also, one is a Muslim among 77 officials in the administration and other divisions.
The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), a constituent unit of ISRO, since its establishment in 1966, has remained a key player for training and capacity-building in geospatial technology and its applications, including effective utilisation of Earth Observation (EO) data. None of its nine deans and directors has been a Muslim. Its 41 senior officials include no Muslims. However, one Muslim is among 42 technical specialists – Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Technician (Instrumentation).
Established in 1982, the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh monitors and controls all the ISRO’s geostationary/geosynchronous satellites – INSAT, GSAT, Kalpana, and IRNSS series of satellites. It is responsible for Orbit Raising of satellites, In-orbit payload testing, and On-orbit operations through their life cycles. Its activities also include round-the-clock Tracking, Telemetry, and Commanding (TT&C) operations, and special operations like eclipse management. It currently operates, controls, and maintains nine satellites located in Geo-Stationary Orbit (GSO). Among its 292 officials are 12 Muslims, mostly technical hands and scientists.
The North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC), a joint initiative of the Department of Space (DOS) and the North Eastern Council (NEC), has been providing dedicated services over the past two and a half decades to the eight states of the North Eastern Region (NER) of India using space science and technology. Eight of its directors since the year 2000 include no Muslims. Only one is a Muslim among its top 20 officials – Sharique Alam, Controller of Administration.
Formed in September 1992, the Bangalore-based Antrix Corporation, the Indian government-owned aerospace company, is the commercial and marketing arm of ISRO engaged in providing space products and services to customers worldwide. With fully equipped state-of-the-art facilities, Antrix provides an end-to-end solution for any of the space products, ranging from the supply of hardware and software, including simple subsystems to a complex spacecraft, for varied applications covering communications, earth observation, and scientific missions. Among its 40 senior officials is a Muslim, Mohammed Shahbaz Alam, who works as a Senior Project Assistant.
New Space India (NSIL), a public sector undertaking (PSU) formed in March 2019 under the Department of Space for producing, assembling, and integrating the launch vehicle with the help of an industry consortium, is working to scale up private sector participation in the Indian space programmes. None of its 48 officials is a Muslim. The Human Space Flight Centre, formed in January 2019 for implementing India’s vision of Human Space Flight Programme from Bengaluru, is primarily spearheading ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme, which envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters. Its first milestone has been achieved through the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission in October 2023. It has five senior officials who include no Muslims.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), established to enhance the diffusion of space technology and boost the space economy within the country, has 75 officials without any Muslims among them. It has empanelled 30 retired/superannuated scientists and engineers from ISRO/DoS Centres and Units, as Technical Advisors in the space sector. None of them is a Muslim.
India boasts a robust network of over 45 space research centres, spearheaded by ISRO. Before the formation of the first research centre, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) came up in 1962, seven years before the formation of Vikram Sarabhai. It built Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, and launched it into orbit by the Soviet Union in 1975. The country’s first launch vehicle, Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), was developed and tested four years later. It was capable of placing a 40-kg satellite into low Earth orbit. The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) came in 1987 with a capacity to launch a 150-kg satellite.
The first operational launch vehicle, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), was introduced in 1993. This four-stage rocket could launch multiple satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. It launched India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, in 2008. The first geostationary launch vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), was developed in 2001 as a three-stage rocket that could launch satellites weighing up to 2.5 tonnes into a geostationary transfer orbit. It uses an indigenous cryogenic engine in its upper stage.
Also in 2001 was the first geostationary launch vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), a three-stage rocket to launch satellites weighing up to 2.5 tonnes into a geostationary transfer orbit. In 2013, India launched its first interplanetary mission, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). The first Indian space observatory, AstroSat, was launched in 2015 by PSLV. It is a multi-wavelength astronomy satellite that carries five instruments for observing celestial objects in ultraviolet, X-ray, and visible wavelengths. It has made several discoveries and observations of black holes, neutron stars, galaxies, and star clusters.
India, as of 2024, is among 80 government space agencies in existence across the world, including more than 70 national space agencies and several international agencies. These agencies have developed or are developing launch infrastructure, including space launch sites, suborbital launch technology, orbital launch systems, cryogenic rocket technologies, and reusable hardware technologies. Also, these agencies have developed advanced technological capabilities required for travel and study of other heavenly bodies within the solar system.
These involve the capacity to leave the local area around the planet Earth for lunar and/or missions to other bodies in the solar system. Five agencies operate and construct satellites in extraterrestrial environments, but do not have the capabilities to transport those satellites to the desired orbit/trajectory/landing spot. The Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency, with 22 centres at various geographical locations, has, till July 2025, launched 433 foreign satellites and 132 Indian satellites, beginning with Aryabhata in April 1975. It is one of the six largest space agencies in the world.
India has three active operational launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram is responsible for the design and development of launch vehicles.
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre and ISRO Propulsion Complex develop the liquid and cryogenic stages for these launch vehicles. Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the space port of India, is responsible for the integration of launchers. India’s space budget has almost tripled—from Rs5,615 crores in 2013-14 to Rs13,416 crores in 2025-2026. In fiscal year 2024, the Union government spent more than Rs107 billion on the space sector.
India’s space sector has directly contributed about US$24 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) to the GDP over the previous decade. It has directly supported over 96,000 jobs in the public and private sectors. In February 2025, officials asserted that India’s space economy would increase fivefold from US$8 billion, a two per cent share in the global space economy, to US$44 billion or eight per cent of the global share, by 2033. In July 2024, India achieved its third successful landing test of its Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV), named Pushpak. India allocated Rs 13,000 crores (US$1.5 billion) to its Department of Space in 2024-2025, a four per cent increase over its budget estimate for the previous year.
The world’s most populous country has also started a venture capital fund worth Rs1,000 crore (US$119.5 million) to grow its commercial space industry. The government established IN-SPACe to promote and authorise non-government entities to utilise ISRO facilities and technologies on commercial space projects. The number of space startups has gone from only one in 2014 to over 180 in 2023. India is targeting 76 per cent readiness for the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, with at least four successful flight tests of a human-rated launch vehicle and crew escape system and significant progress in crew training. The country is working to raise its launch tempo for domestic and foreign satellites, and plans to launch dozens of satellites on its launch vehicles – PSLV, GSLV, LVM-3, and SSLV.
The government has directed ISRO to support 150 non-government entities carrying out space activities. In 2020, the government announced a dedicated Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to promote and foster the Indian players in the space programme, to synergise the existing capabilities and facilities, and also provide the essential authorisation in compliance with national and international regulations. In 2023, India became the first country in the world to land near the previously unexplored lunar South Pole, and the following year India announced a host of ambitious space projects and approved Rs227 billion (US$2.7 billion) for them.
The plans include the next phase of the historic mission to the Moon, sending an orbiter to Venus, building the first phase of the country’s maiden space station, and developing a new reusable heavy-lifting rocket to launch satellites. This is the single largest allocation of funds ever for space projects in India. India spent US$74 million on the Mars orbiter Mangalyaan and US$75 million on the 2023 historic Chandrayaan-3. The Chandrayaan-1 had been the first to confirm the presence of water in lunar soil, and Mangalyaan carried a payload to study methane in the atmosphere of Mars.
India also aims to send a female humanoid to space. India announced plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2040. Work is on for the new powerful rocket to be ready by 2032. India expanded its first human spaceflight mission to include building and operating a national space station, planning two crewed and six uncrewed missions by 2028. It aims to launch a habitable space capsule into a 250-mile orbit and safely return it with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The country is aiming to have an operational ‘Antariksh Station’ by 2035 and send an Indian crewed mission to the Moon by 2040. ISRO’s total budget over the past 10 years (2003-04 to 2012-13) stood at Rs 43,867 crores. ISRO by that time had been running programmes like Indian National Satellite System (INSAT), Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS), PSLV and GSLV.
The ISRO has launched its PSLV rockets 14 times, six GSLV (only three of them being successful), and 31 satellites – Chandrayan being the only space mission. It has been running what officials called the world’s most cost-effective satellite and space programme. ISRO launched its first satellite in 1975, Arya Bhatta, an experimental/small satellite. In April 2012, RISAT came. Between 1975 and 2012, there were 66 satellite launches by the ISRO. Of these, 25 were Earth observation satellites, 25 geo-stationary satellites, and others were Experimental satellites. Chandrayan-I, launched in 2008, and SROSS, launched in 1994, were Space Missions.
ISRO launched its first satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3) in July 1980. Then, in March 1987, the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle was made operational. Other programmes included (PSLV, capable of launching a 1,600 kg satellite in a 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit. The PSLV had one unsuccessful launch of IRS-1E in September 1993 out of the total of 21 operations. PSLV has even launched 27 foreign satellites from various countries till mid-2012. The GSLV, capable of launching INSAT, had its first successful launch in April 2001, and the last operation was in December 2010. In this period, there have been seven operations, with three of them being unsuccessful. PSLV has launched 27 foreign satellites till now. The ISRO has spent US$9 billion in the last decade, according to an analysis by India Spend.
To read and obtain more data, please visit:
At the Bottom of the Ladder: State of the Indian Muslims – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GF1Q9R25
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