Vikram Sarabhai: Pioneer of Space Programme
He was born to textile industrialist Ambalal Sarabhai and Sarla Devi on August 12, 1919 in Ahmedabad. Since childhood, Sarabhai evinced keen interest in science and mathematics. He passed the intermediate science examination from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad. He then went to England and enrolled at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where he graduated in Natural Sciences in 1940.
Early Life
During World War II he returned to India with the desire to contribute to scientific research that would benefit the nation. He began research on cosmic rays under the guidance of physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He published his first scientific paper, Time Distribution of Cosmic Rays in 1942, within two years of having begun his research.
In 1945, he returned to Cambridge for a doctorate. He wrote his thesis on Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes in 1947. On his return to India, he founded the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad with help from a charitable trust run by his family.
Career
Sarabhai had a wide range of interests. He founded the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association in 1947 and was its guiding force till 1956. Around that time, he realised the need for management education in India and helped establish the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad in 1962. He also set up the Operations Research Group, the nation’s first market research organisation.
His greatest contribution came in 1969, with the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He also established the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
After the death of physicist Homi Bhabha in 1966, Sarabhai was appointed the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India. He took up the work passionately and helped set up India’s nuclear power plants. He also played a role in developing indigenous nuclear technology for defence. The Faster Breeder Test Reactor in Kalpakkam and the Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta were also among the projects initiated by him.
Visionary
Sarabhai had a vision of using modern science and technology for development. He launched programmes to take education to the remote villages through satellites. He also contributed to satellite-based remote sensing of natural resources. He helped set up the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University in Ahmedabad in 1962. The institution offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in architecture, planning and technology.
Personal life
He married noted classical dancer Mrinalini in 1942. The couple had two children – daughter Mallika and son Karthikeya.
Later Years
Sarabhai died in Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, on December 30, 1971.He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 1972.
Interesting Facts
1. Sarabhai helped in introducing the transmission of TV programmes in India via satellite. He was in constant touch with NASA which helped in setting up the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment in 1975.
2. After Russia launched Sputnik satellite, Sarabhai persuaded the Central govt. to concentrate on space research. The govt. set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research in 1962, with him as chairman.
3. Vikram Sarabhai helped set up the rocket launching site in Thumba amid coconut groves. The local church of the area St Mary Magdalene’s Catholic Church was turned into an office for scientists, and the bishop’s house was turned into a workshop for them. Scientist APJ Abdul Kalam, who went on to become the President of India, was a member of Sarabhai’s team and worked from a cattle shed which was converted into a lab.
4. He was the brain behind India’s first satellite, Aryabhata. The lander on India’s moon mission Chandrayaan II which will land near the South Pole of the Moon on Sept 20, 2019 is named Vikram in his honour.
Sources: Thefamouspeople.com, Wikipedia, Britannica.com