The Aryabhata satellite was India’s first, named after an ancient Indian mathematician (5th century AD). It was launched on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar. The 96.3 minute orbit had an apogee of 619 km and a perigee of 563 km, at an inclination of 50.7 degrees. Aryabhata was built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) 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.
