Pioneers of Indian space

The perspicacity and foresight of men like Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and U.R. Rao have brought the Indian space industry to where it stands now, with its head held aloft amid intense international competition. Of course, their prescience in judging outcomes in early days when imagination was free and funds scarcer was also supported by the likes of Jawaharalal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, who encouraged the pioneers of space science in their dreams of rocketry that would have seemed spectacular at that time. With the passing of Rao and another eminent cosmic ray scientist, educator and educationist in Yash Pal in the space of two days, India has lost two veterans in their fields. Their vision helped mould institutions, probably none more distinguished than Isro, which Rao helped nurture in his pioneering building of Aryabhatta in 1975, the first satellite, from the sheds of an industrial estate near Bengaluru.

An image of the early days of Indian space science that told the whole story was that of a rocket being carried on the back of a bicycle to its Thumba launchpad. The pioneers of Indian space had the vision to see far beyond those cramped horizons and actively plan and execute the transformation into a world leader in the business of launching satellites. Men may come and men may go but the hundred-plus satellites that Isro has put in space will keep roving in orbits around the Earth to pay a scientific tribute to men like Rao. The spirit with which they enlarged the scope of scientific Indian thought and gave it concrete shape is something we must look back at and wonder. From carrying the Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment (APPLE) satellite around on a bullock cart to experiment with the effects of electromagnetic interference to placing scores of satellites precisely in orbit in a single launch is testament to the progress plotted by the likes of Rao.