Vikram Sarabhai — ISRO Founder Who Was The Father Of Indian Space Programme And Much More

Vikram Sarabhai, internationally regarded as the Father of the Indian Space Programme, was an Indian physicist and industrialist who initiated space research, and helped develop nuclear power in India

Vikram Sarabhai, internationally regarded as the Father of the Indian Space Programme, was an Indian physicist and industrialist who initiated space research, and helped develop nuclear power in India.

He established a larger number of institutions in diverse fields, and played an important role in the foundation of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad. Sarabhai was also the founder of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Vikram Sarabhai’s Education

Sarabhai was born August 12, 1919, in Ahmedabad, India, into a family of industrialists. He initially studied at Gujarat College, but later shifted to University of Cambridge, England. There, obtained a bachelor's degree in natural sciences in 1940. 

Due to the Second World War, Sarabhai returned to India, and undertook research in cosmic rays under Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. 

Sarabhai returned to Cambridge in 1945 to pursue a doctorate. In 1947, he wrote a thesis titled "Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes," according to Britannica. 

Establishing The Physical Research Laboratory

After returning to independent India from Cambridge, Sarabhai persuaded charitable trusts controlled by his family and friends to endow a research institution in Ahmedabad, following which the Physical Research Laboratory was founded on November 11, 1947. 

Sarabhai was only 28 years of age when he established the Physical Research Laboratory. He served the institution from 1966 to 1971. 

Sarabhai was interested in different areas such as scientific research, industry, business, and developmental issues. In 1947, he founded the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association, and looked after its affairs until 1956. 

Sarabhai also realised the need for professional management education in India. Together with different Ahmedabad-based industrialists, Sarabhai played an important role in establishing the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad in 1962. 

Most Well-Known Institutions Established By Vikram Sarabhai

Apart from the Physical Research Laboratory and Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, Sarabhai was instrumental in establishing important institutions including the Community Science Centre, the Darpana Academy for Performing Arts, and the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram,  Faster Breeder Test Reactor in Kalpakkam, Uranium Corporation of India Limited in Jaduguda, Bihar, and Electronics Corporation of India Limited in Hyderabad. 

Inception Of The Indian Space Programme

Space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960s. The American satellite 'Syncom-3' conducted live transmission of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, demonstrating the power of communication satellites. 

Seeing this, Sarabhai recognised the benefits of space technologies for India, according to the official website of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 

Sarabhai envisioned that the resources in space have the potential to address the real problems of society. After Russia launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, Sarabhai convinced the Indian government about the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India. 

Emphasising the importance of a space programme in India, Sarabhai said: "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 the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight".

He also said: "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."

In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up under the Department of Atomic Energy, to spearhead space research activities. In August 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation was established in place of INCOSPAR.

In the early stages of the Indian space programme, St Mary Magdalene Church in the fishing village of Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, served as the main office for scientists. 

Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, known as the Father of India's Nuclear Science Programme, supported Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station was established at Thumba, on the coast of the Arabian Sea, due to the proximity of the location to the equator. 

The inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963, with a sodium vapour payload, following a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, communication links, and launch pads. 

In 1966, Sarabhai founded a Community Science Centre in Ahmedabad because he was very interested in science education. The centre is now known as the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre. 

Sarabhai considered space applications as "levers of development", and initiated programmes to take education to remote villages through satellite communication. 

The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted from July 1975 to July 1976. The experiment was the result of Sarabhai's dialogue with NASA in 1966. 

SITE benefitted around 200,000 people, covering 2,400 villages of six states and transmitted development oriented programmes using the American Technology Satellite (ATS-6).

Sarabhai also started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite, as a result of which India's first experimental satellite, Aryabhatta, was launched using a Soviet Launcher, and placed in low-Earth orbit. 

Vikram Sarabhai’s Role In Nuclear Research

After the death of Bhabha in 1966, Sarabhai was appointed chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India. Sarabhai carried forward Bhabha's work in the field of nuclear research, and was largely responsible for the establishment and development of India's nuclear power plants. Sarabhai also laid the foundations for the indigenous development of nuclear technology for defence purposes. 

In 1966, Sarabhai was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 1972, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan.