ASTROSAT is the first fully dedicated Indian astronomical satellite to study cosmic objects. In a textbook launch sequence from Sriharikota, India’s space port, ISRO put the 1513-kg satellite into its intended perfect orbit on September 28, 2015.

   It is the first space observatory, capable of making observations in the ultraviolet, optical and low and high energy X-ray wavelengths at the same time. In the mid-1970s I attended a seminar on X-ray astronomy in London, where some of the British astronomers outlined the scope for space exploration and held that Western astronomers could lead the venture.

  When I mentioned that India, which was just then developing its space capability, was planning to study cosmic X-ray phenomena, there was an air of disbelief and one of the astronomers even questioned India’s expertise in the area. I ventured to point out that India has had a long tradition of rational understanding of cosmic....