Indian physicist and astronomer Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai founded the space research organisation and the nuclear power facility in India.
Vikram Sarabhai Biography: Vikram Sarabhai was born in Ahmedabad, India, on August 12, 1919. His full name is Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, and he was the son of the Gujarati industrialist Ambalal Sarabhai. Indian physicist and astronomer Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai founded the space research organisation and the nuclear power facility in India. He is regarded as the Father of the Indian space programme due to his achievements. In 1966, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, and in 1972, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Vikram Sarabhai passed away in Kovalam on December 30, 1971.
12 August 1919, Vikram Sarabhai was born into a Gujarati industrial family. Ambalal Sarabhai, his father, was an industrialist, philanthropist, and the founder of the Sarabhai group of enterprises. His mother’s name was Sarla Devi, and he was Ambalal Sarabhai’s eighth son. In 1942, Vikram Sarabhai wed Mrinalini, a professional classical performer. The couple was parents to two children. Mallika is the name of his daughter, who went on to become an actress and an activist. The Padma Shri was awarded to his son, Kartikeya, in 2012 for being one of the world’s foremost environmentalist educators and a dedicated community builder. Vikram Sarabhai practised Jainism and devoted his life to the development of the Indian space programme, which is why he is known as the Father of the Indian space programme.
Vikram Sarabhai was descended from the prominent industrialist family Sarabhai, which supported the Indian Independence movement. After completing his higher education at the Gujarati college in Ahmedabad, Vikram Sarabhai enrolled at the University of Cambridge in England, where he took his final honours exam in the Natural Sciences in 1940.
After World War II, Sarbhai returned to Cambridge to pursue his doctorate, and in 1945 he submitted a dissertation entitled “Cosmic Ray Investigation in Tropical Latitudes.”
The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was founded by Vikram Sarabhai in 1947 and is known as the cradle of space sciences in India. At his residence, the “RETREAT,” PRL began his career with research on cosmic radiation.
On 11 November 1947, the institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute in Ahmedabad with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan was the institute’s first Director. The initial concentration was research on cosmic rays and upper atmosphere properties. With grants from the Atomic Energy Commission, theoretical physics and radio physics were added to the scope of research. He oversaw the family-owned business conglomerate Sarabhai.
His varied interests included science, athletics, and statistics. He founded the Operations Research Group (ORG), the nation’s first market research organisation. Among the numerous institutions he established, the Nehru Foundation for Development in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA), and the (CEPT) are the most notable. He co-founded the Darpana Academy of the Performing Arts with his wife, Mrinalini Sarabhai. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, the Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad, and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jaduguda, Jharkhand are among the other projects and institutions he initiated or founded. Sarabhai initiated an initiative to manufacture and launch an Indian satellite. Thus, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was launched from a Russian cosmodrome in 1975. He established the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Sarabhai was scheduled to examine the SLV design on 30 December 1971 before departing for Bombay that evening. He had telephone contact with A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Sarabhai passed away in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) at the age of 52 from cardiac arrest within an hour of their conversation. His cremation took place in Ahmedabad.
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Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is regarded as the founder of India’s space programme. He contributed to the establishment of a large number of institutions in a variety of disciplines. After returning from Cambridge in 1947, he asked his family and colleagues for assistance in establishing a research institution near his home in Ahmedabad. On November 11, 1947, at the age of only 28, he founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.
The Physical Research Laboratory was the first of many institutions created and cultivated by Vikram Sarabhai. From 1966 to 1971, he served at the Physical Research Laboratory.
Vikram Sarabhai was also extremely involved in his family’s industry and business. After achieving independence in 1947, Vikram Sarabhai established the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association, which he then actively managed until 1956. Vikram Sarabhai also helped establish the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad in 1962, in response to the country’s pressing need for management professionals.
In 1962, Vikram Sarabhai founded the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which was later renamed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
After the demise of revered physicist Homi Bhabha in 1966, Vikram Sarabhai was appointed as the chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission. In addition, he is credited with establishing the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in southern India. Additionally, Vikram Sarabhai assisted in the development of indigenous nuclear defence technology.
1948’s Vikram and Mrinalini Sarabhai
Son of Ambalal Sarabhai, he was a member of the renowned Indian industrialist family Sarabhai, who supported the Indian independence movement. In 1942, Vikram Sarabhai wed the classical performer Mrinalini. The couple was parents to two children. His daughter Mallika became well-known as an actress and activist, and his son Kartikeya became a prominent scientist. Throughout his existence, he adhered to Jainism.In 1940, he completed his tripos in natural sciences at the University of Cambridge, England, after attending Gujarat College in Ahmedabad. In 1947, he wrote a dissertation titled “Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes” after returning to Cambridge in 1945 to pursue a doctorate.
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