It was on 9 October 1971 that the country witnessed the first ever launch of a sounding rocket — 125 mm in diameter — from SHAR [Sriharikota Range], less than three years after the decision was made to set up the launching station. I recollect the pioneering efforts by many stalwarts in building the launch pad and associated facilities. Very soon SPROB [Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant] was taking shape and other facilities like STEX grew up. I recall the long nights, I and my team used to discuss, the processing and static testing of motors for SLV-3.
The untiring efforts by VSSC [Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre] and SHAR teams ensured that the four types of motors went through their qualification satisfactorily. Parallely, the launch complex facilities were being set up. Along with that, several mechanisms of dealing with a mission, the mission readiness reviews, and the launch authorisation board were getting evolved and implemented. The excitement of launch campaign, the tension of count down, the emotions of a launch all have become history and have been deeply etched in my memory. The magnanimity of Prof Dhawan in dealing with the failure of the first launch and his motivating and leading us towards success in the very next flight is one of the basic foundations of a great ISRO culture.
At every stage, SLV-3 team was blessed with some extraordinary courageous people. Shri Sivakaminathan was bringing the C-band transponder from Trivandrum to SHAR for integration with SLV-3. The SLV-3 launch schedule was dependant on the arrival and integration of this equipment. On landing at the Madras airport, the aircraft in which Sivakami was traveling, skidded and overshot the runway. Dense smoke engulfed the aircraft. Everyone jumped out of the aircraft through emergency exit and desperately fought to save themselves – all except Sivakami who stayed in the aircraft till he removed the transponder from his baggage. He was among the last few persons to emerge from the smoke and he was holding the transponder close to his chest. This is the level of dedication and the attachment to the project, because people owned this project.
I have witnessed several successful flights and a few failures in this range. The first mission was a failure and we recovered fast and we were ready for the second mission. 18th July 1980 is a memorable day for the entire space community of India. This was the day the space scientists put a 40 Kg Rohini satellite in a low earth orbit through SLV – 3 (Satellite Launch Vehicle) which took off at 0805 hrs; within minutes the satellite was in orbit. This was a great accomplishment for our scientists, especially after an unsuccessful earlier mission on 10th August 1979.
There was jubilation all around. People were thrilled. They were shouting, hugging and lifting each other and were emotionally charged. This was the time Prof. Dhawan took me aside and said that we should go to a silent place. Both of us went to the launch pad and sat on the launcher. We watched the waves of the Bay of Bengal in silence. After a few minutes Prof. Dhawan said to me: “Kalam, you know you have been working hard for the last eight years. You encountered a number of problems and failures. You faced them all with utmost courage, patience and perseverance. For all the efforts that you put in, today we have got the results. I want to thank you for your excellent work. I will remember it and cherish it”. I had never come across such a beautiful day till then. In the din of loud external jubilation of the entire space community, Prof. Dhawan and I were enjoying the intrinsic beauty of the mega event.
Another incident I remember that happened during the third launch of SLV-3. The count down sequence was proceeding smoothly. There were two operations to be carried out on the launcher – one for release of the spacecraft umbilical and the other to release the arms holding the vehicle. Both these were pneumatically operated systems remotely controlled from Block House. The arms got released as expected. However the spacecraft umbilical release system failed to respond to the command. This held the count down automatically. There was a suspense on how to go about and the launch managers huddled together to find a solution. Shri M.R. Kurup and myself volunteered to reach the unbilical system through a ladder to manually release it. Seeing the situation, one young tradesman of SHAR, Shri Pappaiah volunteered to climb on to the launcher and release the mechanism manually. After clearance by the concerned, he accomplished this marvelous feat and the vehicle was launched that day. I can never forget such committed individuals who have been the backbone of ISRO.
Current Mission
Even after joining DRDO, I have been a partner in SHAR where I have successfully launched PRITHVI, TRISHUL and AKASH Missiles. I have been visiting SHAR almost during every campaign. And you have all marched forward steadily and rapidly from those initial beginnings, making every one of us associated with the early days so much proud of you. I have just now seen the professional preparation for the eighth launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying RESOURCESAT. PSLV has become a workhorse and is available not only for national satellites but also for potential commercial satellites. I remember the first successful launch of PSLV on October 15, 1994 with your present Chairman Madhavan Nair performing the role of a Mission Director. Within six months of the second successful development flight of GSLV, which demonstrated the robustness of the design of the vehicle, you are ready for the 8th launch of PSLV. With this you now have two operational vehicles. I also saw the wonderful Second Launch Pad today. It is a remarkable engineering endeavor and a national asset. I congratulate the entire team of ISRO and its partners in making this possible.
Friends, in the last nearly four decades, ISRO has grown from strength to strength to bring the benefits of the relatively new technology of space for the national development. You have made every Indian proud by virtue of your achievements and have ensured a distinct place for India in the comity of nations. In this process you have fulfilled the vision of the founding fathers of Indian Space Programme, Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Prof. Satish Dhawan. With the accomplishments that have taken place in all the aspects of space technology and applications, the country expects more and more from you. The way I know personally about ISRO, I am sure you would more than meet the expectations and make the country proud.
Future Plans
My friend Shri Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, has briefed me of your future space plans. When the launch frequencies are increased, we will see more and more advanced remote sensing and communication satellites. The exploration of the moon through Chandrayaan will electrify the entire country, particularly young scientists and children. I am sure the moon mission is just a start towards further planetary explorations. He was explaining me about the proposed moon mission. He told me that the spacecraft payload will orbit around the moon and radiate the scientific information. He also told me, that he has got extra 15 kg to allot for any national and international co-operation. I suggested that 15kg can be allotted for a combined entry package to the moon with a telemetry atleast one channel, with density or pressure measurement or tone ranging alone. This experiment will be very effective since India will be getting the data from the moon’s surface. Shri Madhavan Nair promised me that he will consider. More powerful launch vehicles are in the horizon. Personally, I look forward to you coming up with a Reusable Launch Vehicles. Once you bring in a cost effective Reusable launch Vehicle, the space applications will grow multifold and in new dimensions hitherto unimagined.
I understand that we are celebrating World Space Week now. India has been in the forefront of bringing the benefits of space technology to the common man. Space touches the human beings on his day-to-day life in a variety of ways. I believe that technology is a major enabler for the development of our country. Space technology with its uniqueness can network in many ways. With your strength, you have shown self-reliance in this core area. Even as you do this, there are opportunities to be part of global systems to serve the humanity in general.
The national developmental challenges are many involving integrated action namely: Agriculture and Food Processing, Education and Health care, Information and Communication Technology, Infrastructure and self-reliance in critical technologies. As space technologists, you have the role to play in many areas like education, healthcare, disaster prevention & mitigation, e-governance, urban planning, rural communication, PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) and importantly Interlinking of Rivers and so on. Technology growth, self reliance, global co-operation, centres of excellence, networking with industries and academia, contribution to international space law are all parts of this overall goal. The future of space applications for highly populated nation like India cannot be only in the expanded uses of the now-very- conventional technologies for telecommunication and space imagery. It lies in the design, development and application of new technologies for innovative missions that must address pro-actively acute problems of rapid depletion of conventional energy sources, drinking water supplies, and deliver solutions for the man-planet conflict that has led to pollution, climatic change and degradation of ecology and the environment.
The ISRO programme upto now has built a capability to build any type of Spacecraft system and also launch capability upto GSLV launch and beyond. Of course time has come with tremendous core competence built in space technology and space systems and integration capability and manufacturing infrastructure coming in the country, it is time for the space programme to add to the economy of the nation. That means, commercially competitive spacecraft, commercially competitive space launch services, will be needed with marketing ingenuity. For this type of mission, we have to create new stream of creative leaders, whose leadership styles move from commander to coach, manager to mentor, from director to delegator and from one who demands respect to one who facilitates self respect.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.