Aryabhata was India's first satellite, named after the great Indian astronomer Aryaabhatta. It was launched by the Soviet Union on
19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a
Cosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to gain experience in building and operating a satellite in space.
It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and
solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polygon 1.4 m in diameter.
All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells. A
power failure halted experiments after 4 days in orbit. All signals from
the spacecraft were lost after 5 days of operation. The satellite
reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 11 February 1992. The satellite's
image appeared on the reverse of Indian 2 rupee banknotes between 1976 and 1997.
Source: Wikipedia.
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