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Astronaut Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made India proud and had his name etched in history when he spent seven days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes in space on board the Salyut 7 space station. He was the first Indian to travel to space. This achievement came with a joint Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Soviet Interkosmos space programme. In a joint (the Soviet Union and India) TV news conference then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Rakesh Sharma how India looked from space (Upar se Bharat Kaisa dikhta hai aapko?), and he proudly replied ‘Sare jahan se accha‘ (Better than the rest of the world.)
Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union award. He even took Indian food to space with the help of Mysore’s Defence Food Research Lab. He reported that he carried Aloo Choley, Suji Halwa, and Pulao, which he shared with his two other cosmonauts.
Rakesh Sharma joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) in July 1966 as an air force freshman, and in 1970 he got commissioned as a pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and became a fighter pilot. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, he flew the MiG-21 and completed 21 combat missions. He joined Hindustan Aeronautics in 1987 as its chief test pilot. In 2001, he moved out to take on the chairman of the board of Automated Workflow (a Bengaluru-based process-management company).
It was in 1982 that Rakesh Sharma got chosen to become part of a joint Soviet-Indian spaceflight as a cosmonaut. On 3rd April 1984, he and two cosmonauts from the Soviet Union (flight engineer Gennady Strekalov and commander Yury Malyshev) flew on board Soyuz T-11 to the space station Salyut 7. At the space station, Rakesh Sharma conducted various exercises and experiments, such as yoga’s effects on the human body in weightlessness and taking photographs of India from outer space. The three crew members returned after nearly 8 days and touched down on 11th April in Kazakhstan.
Astronaut Rakesh Sharma – Important Details
- Date of Birth – 13th January 1949
- Birthplace – Patiala, Punjab
- Parents – Father – Devendranath Sharma, Mother – Tripata Sharma
- Wife – Madhu Sharma
- Children – Kapil and Krittika. He lost Mansi, his daughter, aged six, when he was training in Moscow.
- Alumnus – 35th National Defence Academy
- Occupation – IAF Fighter Pilot, Research Cosmonaut at ISRO, HAL test pilot
Rakesh Sharma: Education
The institutes from where Rakesh Sharma did his schooling, college education, and training are:
- St. Ann’s High School at Secunderabad
- St. George’s Grammar School in Hyderabad
- Nizam College, (Hyderabad (graduation))
- NDA (Khadakvasla, Pune)
Career
Indian Air Force
Rakesh Sharma entered the IAF in 1970 as a test pilot, and by 1984 he became a squadron leader. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, he flew the Mig-21 to make 21 combat missions. On 20th September, 1982, he was chosen to be a cosmonaut in the Indian Air Force joint program and the Soviet Interkosmos space programme. He trained rigorously at Moscow’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center for two years. Also, he underwent a test for claustrophobia in Bengaluru’s IAF facility with being locked in a room for 72 hours for the test.
As Astronaut
Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to go to space. On 3rd April 1984, he was on board Soyuz T-11, launched from Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Soyuz T-11 spacecraft docked and transferred the three-member Soviet-Indian international crew at Salyut 7 Orbital Station. The three spent seven days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7. The team performed technical and scientific studies, part of which were 43 experimental sessions. Rakesh Sharma mostly worked in remote sensing and bio-medicine. The crew conducted a joint TV news conference with the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and officials in Moscow. Indira Gandhi asked Sharma how India looked from outer space; he quoted Iqbal, saying ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ (the best in the world). Rakesh Sharma’s venture into space made India the 14th nation to have sent a human into space and the128th man to go into space.
Retirement and After
At the time of his retirement in 1987, Rakesh Sharma was a wing commander. In the same year, he joined HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and was the chief test pilot in the HAL Nashik Division till 1992. During this time, he was near Ozar (Nashik) testing a MiG-21, and the plane developed a technical snag and lost control. His life was saved due to a timely ejection from the plane. He retired from flying in 2001 and settled in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
He has hobbies such as golf, gardening, yoga, reading, and travelling.
Awards
Rakesh Sharma won several awards:
- 25th Anniversary of Independence Medal
- 9 Years Long Service Medal
- Ashoka Chakra
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Paschimi Star
- Sainya Seva Medal
- Sangram Medal
- Videsh Seva Service Medal
