India, June 20 -- Decades ago, Isro scientists placed the Indian space agency's first communication satellite on a bullock cart. It was steered into an open field, as an improvised solution to a problem the agency had no facility to solve at the time.

The satellite's antenna had run into trouble. Issues were detected in its Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) links, crucial for maintaining communication. But testing called for a proper antenna range, with the satellite structure placed under a thermal blanket, a kind of facility Isro did not have then. So, the scientists came up with an indigenous fix - they put the satellite on a bullock cart to ensure a non-magnetic environment and ran the test in the open.

That satellite was APPLE...