In its relatively short life history and with legendary small budgets compared to western counterparts, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has not only made a name for itself in the exclusive club of global space powers but also given the country confidence enough to entrust it with ambitious programmes such as the upcoming first manned mission — the Gaganyaan — or the unprecedented mission to the sun, Aditya-I.
India’s space success stories bring a sense of pride to its citizens, inducing euphoria comparable to winning accolades in international sports. These stories have been inspiring enough to make a career in space sciences one of the top aspirations for Indian youngsters today.
Behind India’s glorious space story, however, lie the unflinching efforts of top scientists of the country, who soon after Independence, set in motion the wheels to give the young nation a space programme of its own. It was an ambitious dream to harbour then, considering the myriad problems that faced the newly independent country. But a bunch of scientist-leaders threw their whole life’s weight behind the fledgling space programme, eschewing plum opportunities abroad, and scripted a story whose fruits we savour today.
With APJ Abdul Kalam and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
India’s space programme was born as a result of the futuristic efforts of Vikram Sarabhai, but the tragic death of this young visionary at the age of 52, on December 30, 1971, not only stunned the nation but also threatened to jeopardise the nascent space programme. That’s when Satish Dhawan, handpicked by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to fill the vacuum left behind by Sarabhai, stepped into the picture. Like a true middle order batsman in cricket, Dhawan steadied the innings and helped fortify the foundations of the space programme so that it would grow into what it has become now.
The exhilarating story of Dhawan, the longest and the youngest serving director of the Indian Institute of Science, deserves to be told.
Born on September 25, 1920, in Srinagar, this mathematician and aerospace engineer made great progress in the field of experimental fluid dynamics research in India. In 1947, Dhawan joined the University of Minnesota in the US and obtained an MS in Aeronautical Engineering. He then moved to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Later, he got his PhD in Aeronautics and Mathematics from Caltech in 1951. In Caltech, he worked with eminent aerospace scientist Professor Hans W. Liepmann as advisor. It was during this time that he began his visionary research career in the field of fluid dynamics.
He came back to India to join the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore as Senior Scientific Officer. After a few years, he was promoted to the post of the Head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering. Under his exemplary leadership, the department became the epicentre of experimental fluid dynamic research taking place in India. Dhawan conducted a pilot project that paved the way for the creation of the world-class wind tunnel facilities at Bangalore’s National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). NAL used the technology for aerodynamic testing of aircrafts, missiles and space vehicles. NAL’s trisonic wind tunnel facility is currently being used extensively to characterise the aerodynamics of ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle technology.
Dhawan’s dedication to work and leadership qualities saw him becoming the Director of IISc in 1962. He went on to become the institution’s longest-serving, and most distinguished director.
After serving as IISc Director for nearly nine years, in 1971 Dhawan went on a year’s sabbatical to Caltech, USA. When Sarabhai passed away later that year, Dhawan got a call from the Indian embassy, conveying Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s request that he take charge of the Indian space programme. He accepted the offer but did not want to leave his teaching responsibilities and recommended that the new Department of Space (DoS) be located in Bangalore. Both of Dhawan’s conditions were accepted and the DoS started working in Bangalore just as the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was located in Mumbai.
Far left: Satish Dhawan(centre) with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; Left: Dhawan (left) with Roddam Narasimha (centre), and former President of India (1997-2002), KR Narayanan (right)
At the age of 52, in May 1972, Dhawan took over as the Secretary of India’s Department of Space. This was also when ISRO and the Space Commission were formally born, with Dhawan becoming the Chairman of both.
In the years that followed, Dhawan guided the Indian space programme through a period of extraordinary growth and spectacular achievement. He introduced a dynamic management structure and encouraged innovative ideas. He created a system in which the project director presided over a small team of experts from different centres. He ensured coordinated efforts of the entire ISRO community. Under his guidance, ISRO worked towards a common goal — be it a satellite or a launch vehicle.
Dhawan was known to give the project director the final say in every aspect of the project. He had the vision to use indigenous technologies and products for all ISRO projects, because of which today, hundreds of industrial firms manufacture a wide range of space-quality hardware for ISRO.
Dhawan hand-picked young, bright and dedicated professionals for ISRO, such as India’s Missile Man and former President APJ Abdul Kalam to lead the project that developed SLV-3, India’s first launch vehicle; Roddam Narasimha to lead the research being done at NAL; and UR Rao to head the team that made the country’s first satellite, Aryabhata.
He made it a point to encourage fellow scientists, give them the credit in the event of success and shoulder the responsibility in case of failure. Recounting his experiences as the project director for the launch of India’s first launch vehicle, SLV-3, Kalam said how in 1979, a mission to launch a satellite into orbit under the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) programme failed and Dhawan called the press and took the blame on himself. “Friends, today we had our first satellite launch vehicle to put a satellite in orbit. We could not succeed. In many technologies, we have succeeded, and in a few more, we have yet to succeed. Above all, I realise my team members have to be given all technological support. I am going to do that and the next mission will succeed,” Dhawan told the media after the failed launch.
When the next mission was prepared and launched successfully in 1980, Dhawan told Kalam to attend the press meet without his presence. Kalam recalled, “Professor Dhawan’s management philosophy was that when success comes in after hard work, the leader should give the credit of the success to the team members. When failure comes, the leader should absorb the failures and protect the team members.”
Dhawan helped ISRO in fulfilling Sarabhai’s dream of using space science to address the scientific needs of India. He pioneered programmes and experiments in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications. The development of operational communication systems like INSAT and remote sensing systems like IRS are the outcomes of his efforts. Even after retirement, he continued to dedicate his time to matters of public policy in science and space technology. He was deeply concerned about the militarisation of space and used to comment extensively on this issue. While Sarabhai initiated the journey of the Indian space programme, Dhawan guided it through the difficult decade of 1970s, when India was regarded as an amateur in space sciences. It is, therefore, befitting, that India’s spaceport at Sriharikota (SHAR or Sriharikota Range) in Andhra Pradesh is named the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).
On January 3, 2002, Dhawan breathed his last and India lost one of the most brilliant scientists who transformed every organisation he worked for. As Kalam and Roddam Narasimha, former director of NAL, wrote in their book, Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology, “Professor Dhawan in his professional career has been an engineer, teacher, research scientist, technologist, manager, leader and adviser — often all at the same time.”
*The writer is Associate Editor, Science India
