ISRO's lead centre for building satellites, in Bengaluru. It designs and assembles India's communication, navigation, remote-sensing and science satellites.
URSC is ISRO's lead centre for building satellites and their technology. Its satellites serve communication, navigation, weather, remote sensing, space science and planetary exploration.
Its integration and test centre, ISITE, has clean rooms, a 6.5 m thermal vacuum chamber, a 29-tonne vibration facility and an acoustic test facility. All of ISRO's communication and navigation satellites are assembled and tested there.
The centre began as the Indian Scientific Satellite Project in Bangalore. URSC's own list of milestones begins with Aryabhata, India's first satellite, launched on 19 April 1975.
In November 1976 the project became the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC). It was later renamed the U R Rao Satellite Centre.
ISRO says URSC has built more than 100 satellites. Its sensor unit, the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) in Peenya, was set up in 1993. LEOS makes star trackers, Earth sensors and sun sensors for satellites.
URSC runs a space exhibition. Colleges and schools that want to visit are asked to contact the URSC office directly.