Meet Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Father of the Indian space programme
During laying down the foundation of India’s Space Programme, Dr Vikram Sarabhai said, “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose.”
With the launch of the Russian Satellite Sputnik, Sarabhai felt the need for a space agency for India as well and convinced the Indian government to start the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) Programme. As the programme showed the scope, it was named the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
December 30, 2022, marks the 51st death anniversary of the physicist, Vikram Sarabhai whose vision and commitment led to the rise of India into space and going beyond the borders of the planet and establishing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969. Since then in five decades, India has successfully ventured onto the Moon and Mars.
Born in the family of businessman, Vikram Sarabhai was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on August 12, 1919. Sarabhai was one of eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi. Vikram Sarabhai was attracted towards science at an early age, while his family was involved in the Freedom movement.
Sarabhai attained his early education in India and earned a doctorate from Cambridge University. He studied cosmic rays and published many research papers on it during his time at Cambridge. On November 11, 1947, after his return from England, he founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) at the age of 28. Under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Sir CV Raman, he worked on his PhD at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
In the year 1962, as a Chairman of the INCOSPAR, Vikram Sarabhai took the responsibility of organising Space Research in India. With the launch of Sputnik, he managed to convince the government of the importance of a space program for a developing country like India.
He said that time, “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To 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 the planets or manned space flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.”
Vikram Sarabhai also supported Homi Bhabha in setting up India’s first rocket-launching station, in India at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea due to its closeness to the equator. The inaugural flight to space with a sodium vapour payload was launched on November 21, 1963.
In 1966, Sarabhai started a dialogue with NASA to experiment with the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in a Gujarat village. Later, it was launched in 1975, making access to televisions to the rural population.
Dr Sarabhai also started a project that lead to the launch of India’s first artificial satellite, Aryabhata, orbiting the earth. Aryabhata was entirely designed and fabricated in India and launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar on April 19, 1975.
His effort has led to the development of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). He also guided former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s leading rocket scientist.
Dr Sarabhai is credited with the creation of numerous institutions in India. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project, Calcutta, Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) are among them. He also set up India’s first market research organisation named Operations Research group which focused on applying modern analytical research to meet the demands of clients.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai married renowned dancer classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai in 1942. Together with his wife, he laid the establishment of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad.
Sarabhai was honoured with Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award for Physics in 1962, and Padma Bhushan in 1966. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 1972.
Sarabhai died on December 30, 1971, at the age of 52. He died in a hotel room in Kerala after witnessing the launch of a Russian rocket and laying the foundation stone of the Thumba railway station.
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