Rocket scientist Satish Dhawan’s 102nd birth anniversary was observed on Sunday in a grand manner at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (SDSC – SHAR).
Hailed as the father of India’s fluid dynamics research, Satish Dhawan was also an eminent researcher in the field of turbulence and boundary layers.
Born in Srinagar, he was educated in India and the United States, before succeeding Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of Indian space programme, as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1972.
In a decade’s time, he propelled the Indian space programme through a period of extraordinary growth and spectacular achievement. He had also carried out pioneering experiments in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications areas considered to have a direct bearing on a common man’s life.
SDSC Director A. Rajarajan, who offered floral tributes to the portrait of Satish Dhawan, recalled his services as the Chairman of Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space.
“His efforts led to operational systems like INSAT – a telecommunications satellite, the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that placed India in the league of space faring nations,” Dr. Rajarajan recalled.
The satellite launch centre at Sriharikota was named after Prof. Satish Dhawan following his death in the year 2002.
