Vikram Sarabhai: Father of the Indian Space Programme

India’s unique scientist and patriot. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space research program, is a great asset to a young and independent India. The great visionary Dr. The seed of curiosity and innovation sown by Vikram Sarabhai made Chandrayaan 2 one of the greatest achievements of modern times. Inspired by this revolutionary vision of sending a rocket into space, Sarabhai pioneered the development of the country’s space research program. Their interest and expertise were different. He worked continuously till his last breath in textile, medicine, atomic energy, electronics, and many other fields. ISRO has set many milestones since its inception in 1969. From a broader perspective, India is known as the ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ of science, and without him, India would not be the developing nation it is today. Since its inception, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has given countless milestones to make every Indian proud. ISRO was established in 1969 and since then, ‘it has never failed to achieve its vision of harnessing space technology for national development. Recently, Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission of the Indian space agency ISRO. The goal is to place a lander and rover on the lunar surface and maintain them for approximately one lunar day, or 14 Earth days. ISRO and its founders are responsible for making India’s technology world-famous at this point.

One of India’s most acclaimed scientists, Vikram Sarabhai, whose full name was Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, was born on August 12, 1919, in Ahmedabad. Vikram Sarabhai was born into a family of industrialists. His father Ambalal Sarabhai built Calico Mills, one of the oldest textile mills in Ahmedabad, which lasted for more than a century. The Sarabhai family were staunch members of the anti-British Quit India movement. He attended Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, but later moved to Cambridge University in England, where he received his Tripos in Natural Sciences in 1940. Due to severe restrictions caused by the Second World War, Sarabhai returned to India, where he undertook research. In 1945 he returned to Cambridge to earn his doctorate at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, returning to India to pursue his first research project on cosmic rays under physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. and in 1947 wrote a paper entitled “Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes”. After his return to India, he set up a physical research laboratory in Ahmedabad.

Sarabhai established the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to emphasize the importance of the space program after the launch of Russia’s Sputnik. He started India’s first rocket launch center at Tumba and established the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In 1966, he initiated talks with NASA to experiment with the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, or SITE, in a village in Gujarat. It was jointly launched in 1975, making televisions a reality in rural areas. Sarabhai realized the enormous potential inherent in space science and technology – communication, weather/climate forecasting, and exploration of natural resources, to name a few. The Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, founded by Sarabhai, initiated research in space science and subsequently in space technology. Sarabhai pioneered the country’s rocket technology. He played a pioneering role in the development of satellite TV broadcasting in India.

After launching Russia’s Sputnik satellite, Sarabhai had ambitions for India to have a space agency as well. “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing country. For us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or planets or manned spaceflight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally and in the community of nations, we must be. Man and Second to none in the application of advanced technologies to real problems of society.” In this way, he appealed to the Government of India. He also emphasised that the progress achieved through the application of space technology must be “measured in hard economic and social terms.”His vision and commitment led to the establishment of Inscoper during the Nehru government. It was later re-named by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Vikram Sarabhai helped Homi Bhabha set up India’s first rocket-launching center, which was built at St Mary Magdalene Church near Thiruvananthapuram. The first flight was a sodium vapor payload and was launched on 21 November 1963. Sarabhai initiated a project that would lead to the construction of India’s first artificial satellite in Earth orbit. Launched in July 1976, Aryabhata was launched on a Russian rocket Kapustin Yar four years after Sarabhai’s death. He established India’s first market research organization aimed at applying modern analytical research to meet customer needs. The organization was called Operations Research Group. The cosmic ray and space scientist was awarded the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award for Physics in 1962 and the Padma Bhushan in 1966. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.