Remembering Vikram Sarabhai: The father of ISRO

Vikram Sarabhai wanted to conduct research on cosmic rays, which was something he undertook on the advice of the eminent scientist C.V. Raman. His first scientific paper 'Time Distribution of Cosmic Rays' was published in 1942.

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)

Vikram Sarabhai returned to Cambridge in 1945 to further his research on cosmic rays and earned his PhD for his thesis 'Cosmic ray investigations in tropical latitudes'.

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.

Vikram Sarabhai also served as a Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in ..

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)

Vikram Sarabhai founded the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) which eventually became the largest government space agency in the world. He convinced the government of the importance of a space programme after the Russian Sputnik launch.

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.