Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in Space. He was born on 13th January 1949 in Punjab, India.

He flew to the Salyut 7 Space Station. Biography Rakesh Sharma was born on 13th January 1949 in Punjab, India. Rakesh completed his early education at St. Goerge's Grammer School, Hyderabad, India. Later In 1966, Rakesh joined as an Air Force Cadet in NDA. In 1970, Rakesh was appointed as Pilot Officer in the Indian Air Force. Born On: January 13th, 1949 Born In: Patiala in India Career: Test Pilot and Cosmonaut Timeline 1949: Rakesh Sharma was born in Patalia into a Punjabi family. 1966: He joined the National Defense Academy as an Air Force trainee. 1970: Appointed as a test pilot by Indian Air Force. 1971: Rakesh Sharma flew the Mikoyan-Gurevich, a Russian jet. 1984: He was a part of a space mission owing to which he became the first

man to travel to space. 2006: He took part in a space conference held by ISRO.

India sent its first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, aboard Soviet spacecraft Salyut 7 in April 1984. Early life Rakesh Sharma was born on January 13, 1949 in Patiala, Punjab, India. Rakesh studied at St. George's Grammar School, Hyderabad, India. In 1966, Rakesh Joined As An Air Force Cadet in NDA. In 1970, Rakesh Was Appointed As Pilot Officer In The Indian Air Force. Sharma joined the Indian Air Force in 1970 as a pilot officer after joining the NDA as an IAF cadet in 1966. He joined the National Defense Academy (NDA) as an Air Force cadet in July 1966. In 1970 he was commissioned into the Indian Air Force to become a pilot. Sharma joined the Indian Air Force and progressed rapidly through the ranks. In the 1971 War, Sharma flew missions is MiG aircraft with considerable success. A few years later he retired from the Indian Army as a Wing Commander to become a part of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as a test pilot. He was posted in the Nashik Division. He then shifted to National Flight Test Center (NFTC) in Bangalore and began to work on Light Combat Aircraft program, along with a few others. Career In 1970, after joining the Indian Air Force as a test pilot, his passion for flying opened up several opportunities such as being a part of war operations against Pakistan. He flew various Mikoyan-Gurevich aircrafts starting from 1971. Rakesh swiftly progressed through many levels and in 1984 he was appointed as the Squadron Leader and pilot of the Indian Air Force. He was a squadron leader with the Indian Air Force, when he flew into space in 1984 as part of a joint programme between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Soviet Intercosmos space program.

Sharma, then a Squadron Leader and pilot with the Indian Air Force embarked on a historic mission in 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program, and spent eight days in space aboard the Salyut 7 space station. Space Mission He spent eight days in space on board the Salyut 7 space station (Soviet/Russian). He joined two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft which blasted off on April 2, 1984. Rakesh Sharma was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to undergo training with the Russians as part of their space programme. He was selected on 20th September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and was trained for 18 months for the eight-day trip. In 1984 he became the first Indian citizen to go into space when he flew aboard the Russian rocket Soyuz T-11. The take-off from Baikonur in Moscow on April 2, 1984 was a high point in Indo-Soviet relations. The Soyuz IT 11 docked and transferred the three-member Soviet-Indian international crew which also included the Ship's Commander Y.V. Malyshev and Flight Engineer G.M. Strekalov (USSR) to the SALYUT-7 Orbital Station. The crew spent seven days aboard the Salyut Space Station during which they conducted scientific and technical studies, which included 43 experimental sessions. The one thing that cosmonauts are trained the most is to cope with is zero gravity. For example, Sharma, who recently gave a lecture in Bangalore on the kind of training that is given to astronauts, recalled that they were all made to sleep with their heads lower than their feet. Sharma says that six months before the launch, he dropped the fitness regime that the other cosmonauts were following and did intensive yoga. This was to assess whether yoga helps people cope better with the lack of gravity. His work was mainly in the flelds of biomedicine and remote sensing. He was launched with 2 cosmonauts _________________ along with two Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 3 April 1984. Sharma was 35-yearold. at the time. Rakesh along with the Soviet Cosmonauts spend 7 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes (Appx. Eight days) in space and board the Salyut 7 space station, a low earth orbit space station, conducting an earth observation programme concentrating on India. He also did life sciences and materials processing experiments, including silicium fusing tests. He is also reported to have experimented with practicing Yoga to deal with the effects of prolonged orbital spaceflight. While Rakesh was in space, he was asked by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on a famous conversation, who asked him how does India look from space, Rakesh replied "Saare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan Hamara" meaning 'Our land of Hindustan, is the Best in the world'.

Rakesh Sharma immortalised himself in Indian History and made his way into many Indians hearts by his answer to the then PM Indira Gandhiji's question on how India looked from outer space. He replied "Saare Jahan Se Achha" (The Best in the World). That was also a proud moment for millions of Indian TV viewers who watched India become the 14th nation to send a man to outer space. He was conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union upon his return from space. The Government of India conferred its highest gallantry award (during peace time), the Ashoka Chakra on him and the other two Soviet members of his mission. He retired with the rank of Wing Commander. He joined the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1987 and served as Chief Test Pilot in the HAL Nashik Division until 1992, before moving on to Bangalore to work as the Chief Test Pilot of HAL. He retired from test flying in 2001. In 2006, Sharma took part in a conference involving a gathering of the best scientists of ISRO, who were responsible for one of India's space missions. Currently, he has retired from his services and is now the chairperson for the Automated Workflow.

Kalpana Chawla, Indian Astronaut Kalpana Chawla was an Indian- born American astronaut working with NASA. She dared to take the leap to become a self-made astronaut who died of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

More on Kalpana Chawla, Indian Astronaut (5 Articles) Kalpana Chawla can perhaps be termed as the most luminous Indian-born American astronaut, who took India and the bravado and valour of Indian women to empyreal heights. Indeed, from childhood Kalpana`s eyes were always trained at the stars, which is where she found her final home. Although born in a small provincial town of India, where even today humandriven cycle-rickshaws outnumber motorized vehicles, she believed herself to be a citizen of the world and was always free from all prejudices of caste, race and religion. Despite the fact that she married a French-American and went into space aboard an American spacecraft, Kalpana lived simply like an Indian. Somewhat short, approximately five feet and dark-eyed, Kalpana`s spoken English was free from an American accent. She enjoyed Indian musical concerts and Bharatanatyam performances. She was a vegetarian. Early Life of Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla was born in the city of Karnal in Haryana, in a home of three elder sisters and one elder brother. During her early life, Kalpana was nurtured to an archetypal Indian family in the mid-20th century, with education taking centre-stage. However, she was unusual in every thing she did. Kalpana Chawla as a student was hugely interested in science and always

desired to make it into engineering and the science of space. Hence her educational life pivoted around that very subject only. Hence Kalpana took admission to DAV College for Women for her pre-University lessons. Later, she got herself admitted to Dyal Singh College, just to pursue engineering from the illustrious Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. Each of her dreams were answered, owing to her tremendous will force and zealousness towards studying aeronautics. Kalpana Chawla in NASA It was precisely in NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) that Kalpana Chawla lived her dream to travel and die in space. And it happened at last. After completing her education in aeronautics; Kalpana received a call from the MCAT Institute, San Jose, California as a research scientist. The project was made under the guidance under NASA. For her research work in NASA, Kalpana had to study several complex features of earth and its gravity. Yet, she always yearned to fly and kept wishing on to finally get selected for a NASA mission to space. Inspiration of Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla was extremely proud of her birth-place and made every effort to bring it into the limelight. During space flights she would proudly point it out to her fellow-astronauts. Once, during the second space flight she remembered her closest friend, Daisy Chawla, who died in a road accident. In fact, despite her celebrity status, she took pains to track down her former teachers, classmates and friends in India and showed a keen desire to stay in touch with them. Her affectionate and humble nature won the hearts of all who came in contact with her. Kalpana always loved and enjoyed her work. She was always highly attentive to the task before her, whether it was a classroom lecture or the performance of an experiment aboard the shuttle. Even during briefings to astronauts, while others simply listened, she always took notes. Above all, she possessed this inner striving to do something extraordinary in life. Kalpana Chawla always urged young people to take time to figure out what they wanted to do in life and what they enjoyed doing. Once that is done, she urged them to strive hard to achieve that goal. She always believed the journey to be as important as the goal. Kalpana had a strong desire to go to Mars, fly over its canyons and die in space and she was equally concerned about the well-being of the earth. She always urged young people to listen to the sounds of nature and take care of the planet. During her space trips, she took many breathtaking photographs of the earth for various terrestrial studies later on the ground. When she was in space, she always felt a sense of connection with everyone on earth. It was Kalpana Chawla`s long cherished desire to visit India again but that

was not to be. A few months after her tragic death, Jean Pierre Harrison, her husband visited India. He went to her school and college, met her family, teachers and friends and scattered her ashes over the Himalayas. Her short but eventful life in Karnal district, in Haryana and later in the United States thus deserves special mention, in which she perhaps had tried to achieve every single wish she harnessed since girlhood.

Maiden Space Mission of Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla`s maiden space mission was like an impossible dream coming true to her, owing to her severe perseverance and determination to make it big in aeronautics. Her first mission was to fly in Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87, which began in the late months of 1997. She was a part of the six-member international crew on board. Kalpana had many emotional moments with her members during her journey into depths of darkness. Kept under strict discipline and control in the maiden mission, Kalpana had to monitor several functions of the planet, including zero gravitational activities. After initial minor malfunctions of Payload Bay, Kalpana`s first mission was a huge success after touchdown. Overnight Kalpana Chawla had become a legend. Final Space Mission of Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla`s final space mission was in association with NASA yet again, on board the Space Shuttle Columbia, the one in which she made her first voyage, with flight STS-107. In spite of a first flight, she was most eager to resume a space flight, a rare among astronauts. Her mission this time however was purely scientific, with more complex work to be performed. Kalpana was assigned as the Flight Engineer and the Mission Specialist for STS-107. Her experiments in space would bring about path-breaking results for earth and its population. However, everything was cut short quite pathetically, when Columbia accidentally broke down just 16 minutes before landing, burning and annihilating everything and everyone with it on 1st February, 2003.

Awards of Kalpana Chawla * Congressional Space Medal of Honour * ASA Space Flight Medal * NASA Distinguished Service Medal The Kalpana Chawla "Spirit of Columbia" Scholarship After her death, the Kalpana Chawla "Spirit of Columbia" scholarship is introduced by Blue Ocean Institute. This scholarship is named in honour of Kalpana Chawla who perished aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle in 2003. She chose Carl Safina`s Song for the Blue Ocean as one of the few personal belongings to accompany her in space. While on that mission, in a personal email, she stated that after returning from space, she would meet Safina and devote herself to conservation. The remains of Kalpana`s copy of the book, recovered by NASA from the spot where the catastrophe occurred, are enshrined in Blue Ocean Institute`s headquarters .It is a reminder that the power of passionate words can quite literally encircle the Earth. A year after her decease, her family and friends established the "Kalpana Chawla Spirit of Columbia Fund" at Blue Ocean Institute. Blue Ocean Institute offers a $5,000 scholarship annually to a graduate student who is passionate in studying the Marine science.