For authenticity, Ashutosh Gowariker shot a scene at Launch Pad 39A, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. This is the first Indian film to actually be shot inside the NASA research center.
Mohan Bhargava is working on a rainfall monitoring satellite known as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), which is lifted into an orbit aboard a Space Shuttle. The GPM is an actual NASA mission, currently scheduled to launch in 2007.
When Mohan and the villagers get together in the school for a celebration, we can see a blackboard in the background with a design drawn on it with chalk. That design is actually the logo of Ashutosh Gowariker Productions.