Remembering Vikram Sarabhai: The father of ISRO
Father of Indian space programme
He was known as the father of the Indian space programme. Born on August 12, 1919, he passed the intermediate Science examination from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad and went to England for further studies.
He enrolled at the St. John's College, University of Cambridge from where he received the Tripos in Natural Sciences in 1940. After coming back to India, he joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
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The journey
In 1942, he married celebrated classical dancer Mrinalini. The couple had two children. His daughter Mallika and son Karthikeya too became famous personalities.
(In pic: A wedding picture of Vikram Sarabhai and Mrinalini Sarabhai in Ahmedabad)
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First milestone
One of his first milestones was establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1947. He was only 28 at that time. Sarabhai served for PRL from 1966-1971.
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Hat full of feathers
The year 1957-1958 was designated as International Geo-physical year (IGY). The Indian programme for the IGY had been one of the most significant ventures of Sarabhai. This gave him exposure to new vistas of space science with the launching of Sputnik-I in 1957. Subsequently, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was formed, under his chairmanship.
(In pic: Vikram Sarabhai with Kamla Chowdhry)
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The child called ISRO
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This centre was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram.
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