1981 সালে ISRO ভারতের প্রথম ভূ-তাত্ত্বিক উপগ্রহ উৎক্ষেপণ করেছিল, যার নাম হল -

APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment), launched on 19 June 1981 by an Ariane rocket from French Guiana, was ISRO's first experimental geostationary communication satellite. Aryabhata (1975) was India's first satellite, and the Bhaskara satellites were for Earth observation.