Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
On April 3, 1984, when Rakesh Sharma flew the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11, he made history. He became the first Indian citizen to reach space. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, (retired) was an Indian Air Force pilot on September 20, 1982 was chosen as a cosmonaut to be a part of the joint Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Soviet Interkosmos space program.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
With Rakesh Sharma’s voyage, India became the 14th nation to send a person to outer space.
India 75 - Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space
On this journey to the space station Salyut 7, two Soviet cosmonauts, commander Yury Malyshev and flight engineer Gennady Strekalov accompanied him.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
The Salyut crew had held a joint television news conference with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and officials in Moscow. When Gandhi asked Rakesh how India looked from outer space, he said the iconic words, “Saare Jahan Se Achha” (tr. , the best in the world.)
These are words from a popular patriotic poem that was written by poet and politician Muhammad Iqbal while India was still under British colonial rule.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
Rakesh and the crew spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard Salyut 7. The crew conducted several experiments and technical studies, including 43 experimental sessions. Rakesh’s work majorly involved bio-medicine and remote sensing.
One of the experiments he performed was testing the effect of yoga on the body in microgravity. He also photographed India from space, saving India two years of aerial photography to map the same area.
India 75 - Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space
While in space, one of the most remarkable things Rakesh saw from space was India’s coastline. He said in an interview decades later that the country’s coastline was visible for about four minutes over 24 hours.
After the completion of the mission, Rakesh and his crewmates landed in Kazakhstan on April 11. He was conferred with the honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union upon returning from space. India conferred its highest peacetime gallantry award, Ashok Chakra in 1985.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
Born on January 13, 1949, in Patiala, Punjab, Rakesh Sharma had dreams of flying jets since his childhood. After graduating from the National Defence Academy, he joined the Indian Air Force in 1970 at the age of 21. He began his career flying supersonic jet fighters. In 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, he flew 21 missions in a MiG-21 fighter jet.
All before the age of 23. When the time finally came to travel to space, he was 35.
"I had pretty much done it all before I went into space. So when the opportunity came, I went along. It was that simple".
With this travel, he became the 128th human to travel to space.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
In 1984, when Rakesh was launched into space, India did not have a space program let alone cosmonaut training facilities. For Rakesh, training to go to space was a challenge. As part of this training, he was to stay in a locked room with artificial lights for 72 hours at an aerospace facility in Bengaluru to check how he reacted to claustrophobia.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
On completion of which he then went to Star City, a high-security cosmonaut-training facility, about 50 miles outside Moscow for the final phase of his training. Rakesh had to adapt not just to the freezing temperatures but also had to pick up Russian so he could communicate with this team. He was also put on a special 3,200-calorie diet and tested by Olympic trainers for strength, speed, and endurance.
An interesting fact about the pioneering astronaut is that he took with him some Indian food to space. The Defence Food Research Lab in Mysore packed some suji halwa (a dessert made with semolina), aloo chhole (chickpea and potato curry), and vegetable pulaov, which he shared with fellow astronauts.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
The decorated Air Force officer retired from duty as a Wing Commander and joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1987. He was HAL’s chief test pilot, and retired in 2001.
Rakesh Sharma: The first Indian to go into space by Roshan Gawand
The Indian government has recently allowed companies to build private space programs. In an interview, Rakesh said he would love to go back to space but this time as a tourist.
Rakesh Sharma rewrote how many young Indians dreamed. Years later, inspired by him, another young Indian, Kalpana Chawla undertook a similar journey into the great unknown.
Illustrations by Roshan Gawand