Punjab News Desk!! Rakesh Sharma (English: Rakesh Sharma, born: January 13, 1949, Patiala, Punjab) was India’s first astronaut. He got the opportunity to fly in a spacecraft and revolve around the Earth on April 2, 1984. He was the world’s 138th astronaut. Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma flew to the Soviet space station located in low orbit and spent seven days on the space station. Witnessing the friendship between India and the Soviet Union, Rakesh Sharma also photographed India and the Himalayan region during this joint space mission. It was a proud moment for the Indians when when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked how India looked from space, Rakesh Sharma had said – ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha Hindustan Hamara’.
Birth and education
Rakesh Sharma was born on January 13, 1949 in Patiala (Punjab) in a Hindu Gaur family. He took his military education in Hyderabad. He wanted to become a pilot. Rakesh Sharma was also selected as a test pilot by the Indian Air Force, but hardly anyone would have thought that he would become India’s first astronaut. On September 20, 1982, the ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ (ISRO) selected him for the mission of Intercosmos, the space agency of the (then) Soviet Union.
Rakesh Sharma
After this he was sent for training to Baikanur, located in Kazakhstan of the Soviet Union. Ravish Malhotra was also sent with him. It was the historic day of April 2, 1984, when the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft took off from Baikanur in the Soviet Union with three astronauts. From the Indian mission was Rakesh Sharma, the commander of the spacecraft was Y. V. Malyshev and flight engineer G. M Struckoloff. Soyuz T-11 had transported all three passengers to Soviet Russia’s orbital station Salyut-7.
workload
While in Salyut-7, Rakesh Sharma took many photographs of India. He spent seven days in space and conducted 33 experiments. Rakesh Sharma practiced in space to deal with the effects of weightlessness. His work was also related to remote sensing. During this, the three astronauts also addressed a joint press conference from the space station in Moscow and New Delhi. It was such a proud moment, which millions of Indians watched and cherished on their television sets.
end of mission
When Rakesh Sharma had returned to India from space travel, Indira Gandhi had asked how our India looked from space, then Rakesh had replied – ‘Our India is better than all places’. After retiring from the post of Wing Commander, Rakesh Sharma continued working as a test pilot in ‘Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’. At the same time, that moment also came when he narrowly escaped an accident.
isro member
In November 2006, Rakesh Sharma was also a member of the committee of ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ (ISRO). This committee had given permission to the new Indian space flight program. Now Rakesh Sharma, living in Bengaluru, is working as the board chairman of Automated Workfloor Company.
Respect
After the completion of the space mission, the Government of India honored Rakesh Sharma and his two space companions with ‘Ashoka Chakra’. Upon returning from his successful space journey, he was also awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union” honour.
