Rakesh Sharma is a former Indian Air Force pilot and astronaut, who became the first Indian citizen to travel in space.
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Wiki/Biography
Rakesh Sharma was born on 13 January 1949 (age 71 years; as in 2020) in Patiala city of Punjab, India. He studied at St. Ann’s High School, Secunderabad and later joined St. George’s Grammar School, Hyderabad. He graduated from Nizam College, Hyderabad and was admitted to the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune. His zodiac/sun sign is Capricorn.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 6″
Eye colour: Light brown
Hair Colour: White
Family, Caste and Wife
Rakesh was born in a Gaur Brahmin family to Devendranath Sharma and Tripta Sharma. He married Madhu, an interior designer.
Rakesh Sharma with his family
The couple has a son, Kapil Sharma, who is a film director, and a daughter, Krutika Sharma, who is a senior design associate and behavioral architect. They had another daughter, Mansi, who died at the young age of six.
Rakesh Sharma’s son, Kapil Sharma
livelihood
Rakesh Sharma joined the Indian Air Force as a test pilot in 1970. He progressed through many levels and was commissioned as a squadron leader and pilot in the Indian Air Force in 1984.
After being selected as an astronaut on 20 September 1982, he joined the Indian Space Research Organization and the Soviet Intercosmos space programme. He flew into space in Soyuz T-11 with the ship’s commander, Yuri Malyshev, and the flight toward the Salyut 7 orbital station. Engineer, Gennady Strekalov.
Rakesh Sharma with his fellow astronauts
Rakesh became the first Indian citizen to travel in space, spending 7 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes. He retired with the rank of Wing Commander. He joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 1987 and served as Chief Test Pilot at HAL Nashik Division until 1992, before moving to Bangalore to work as Chief Test Pilot of HAL. He retired from flying in 2001.
Awards and honors
Rakesh Sharma receiving the honor
- Foreign Service Service Medal
- 25th Anniversary of Independence Medal
- 9 years long service medal
Favourite Things
- Travel Destination: Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu
fact
- His ancestors were from Multan, Western Punjab (present day Pakistan).
- Since childhood, Rakesh was attracted to the world of outer space. Recalling the incident of Yuri Gagarin’s entry into space, Mr. Sharma says,
I was a student in 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, and I memorized every written word.”
- He was just 18 years old when he joined the Indian Air Force as a cadet in 1966.
- In the year 1980, the Indian Air Force (IAF) was asked by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to select two astronauts for a joint India-Soviet mission. Wing Commanders Ravish Malhotra and Rakesh Sharma were selected. Due to some reasons, the requirements were limited to a single person due to which Rakesh had to do the work.
Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra with Indira Gandhi photo
- Rakesh underwent intensive training for about 3 years before stepping towards space. He was locked in a closed room for 72 hours by the Air Force facility in Bangalore to test latent claustrophobia. He had to learn Russian as most of the instructions were given in Russian.
- Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra practicing yoga
- To deal with the problem of space sickness, he also practiced ‘zero-gravity yoga’.
- While he was training in Moscow for a space mission, he received the news of the unfortunate incident of his daughter Mansi. Despite this, he continued his training to become the first person from India to travel in space.
- His work in space was mainly to conduct an experiment in the field of biomedicine and remote sensing. He also conducted life science and materials processing experiments, including silicon fusing tests.
- At a joint conference held in Moscow, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, asked Rakesh how India looked from space, receiving the reply, “Saare Jahan Se Accha (Best in the world).”
- Soon after returning to Earth, Rakesh became a hot topic in the media; Both in India and abroad. His daily routine was surrounded by press conferences, talks, seminars, interviews etc.
- Rakesh Sharma is being interviewed
- Despite achieving so much, he shows a humble personality and says,
I’m really grateful for the opportunity to go to space. But, it could have been anyone. It’s like a lottery, I won.”
- His achievements were soon overshadowed by the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, which were sparked by the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
- While testing his MiG-21 fighter jet near Ozar in Nashik, he lost control, which led to a technical fault. Luckily, he bailed out of the jet at the last moment.
- Many people consider Rakesh Sharma to be the first person to walk on the Moon but he is the first Indian person to travel in space.
- After retirement from HAL, Rakesh settled in Coonoor, away from urban life. He fell in love with the Nilgiri Hills at the age of 15, when he visited his uncle’s house alone.
- He shares a very good relationship with his former fellow Air Force officer Ravish Malhotra.
- His son, Kapil Sharma, is a Bollywood film director who directed the film “I, Me Aur Main (2013)”.
- Rakesh says that he wants to go to space again but this time only for the purpose of travel and exploration.
- When he was in space, he reported that there was a fire in Burma.
- There are reports in Bollywood about Rakesh Sharma’s biopic ‘Salute’, which is going to be Mahesh Mathai’s first film as a director. Initially, Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan were on the radar for the lead role, but both the actors have left the project.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn