U R Rao, an exceptionally
versatile scientist, technologist, and a passionate space application
protagonist, who led India’s satellite program successfully with his innovative
ideas, died on July 24.
Udupi Ramachandra Rao was born at Adamaru,
Karnataka on March 10, 1932. His parents were Lakshminarayana Acharya and
Krishnaveni Amma. He had his secondary education from Christian High School,
Udupi. He had his B Sc from Government Arts and Science College, Anantapur and
M Sc from Banaras Hindu University. He obtained PhD in 1960 from the University
of Gujarat for his work on cosmic ray time variations under the supervision of
Sarabhai. Joining MIT, he carried out fundamental investigations on solar wind
using Mariner-2 observations. Working in the JPL, Rao made a path-breaking
discovery of the “continuous emission of the solar wind, their characteristics
and correlation with the geomagnetic disturbance.” Later, joining the
University of Texas at Dallas he, as the prime experimenter on Pioneer 6, 7, 8
and 9 Deep Space Probes and Explorer 34 and 41 Spacecrafts, carried out
research on solar as well as galactic cosmic ray phenomena and the
electromagnetic state of the interplanetary space.
On returning to India, in late 1968, Rao,
at the request of Sarabhai, started work on designing a 100 kg satellite with a
team of around 20 engineers and 20 scientists. Relying heavily on his project
management and system engineering abilities, Rao created a sophisticated
electronic laboratory, a clean room for assembling satellite, and a small
thermo-vacuum chamber and other infrastructure required to build satellites.
With that young, inexperienced but committed team of scientists with an average
age of 25 with a ‘never-say-impossible’ attitude, Rao assembled the 358 kg
Aryabhata satellite that was launched in 1975 from USSR.
Later, becoming the first Director of the
ISRO Satellite Center, Bengaluru, Rao designed, fabricated and launched over 15
satellites including INSAT-1 and INSAT-2 series of multipurpose satellites and
IRS series of remote sensing satellites. Rao’s ability to connect with
subordinates is an attribute that is often admired by his followers as his best
quality. Above all, Rao is a great institution builder. With his high levels of
professional competence, and grit and determination, he withered away
innumerable difficulties—failures of the satellites and launch vehicles in the
experimental stage, restrictions and embargoes on transfer of sensitive
technology from the west, lull in the international collaborations—by
steadfastly working with his young colleagues, infusing mutual respect and team
spirit in the organization, and could succeed in building self-reliance in
spacecraft and launch vehicle technology. His leadership style created the much
desired trust that became the organizational norm and continues to be the
guiding force in defining what is known today as ‘ISRO culture’.
Rao had evinced great interest to harvest
the vast benefits that the space technology offered for the development of communication,
education, management of natural resources and disaster management in the
country. He also promoted the use of satellite remote sensing for operational
flood management and agricultural drought monitoring. His passion for using
remote sensing for national development well reflects in his carving out time
from his preoccupations with steering ISRO to write a masterly book—Space
Technology for Sustainable Development—that bagged the Outstanding Book
Award of the International Academy of Astronautics in 1997.
To build self-reliance in launch vehicle
technology, Rao, as the Chairman of ISRO, initiated the Augmented Satellite
Launch Vehicle (ASLV) project. Unfortunately, the first two developmental
flights of ASLV carried out in March 1987 and July 1988 did not succeed. These
failures seemed to have threatened the confidence of ISRO launch community. But
Rao, as Chairman, standing behind them stoically, prodded them to fight back.
Ultimately, the failure analysis of ASLV paid the dividends: the inputs of the
report made the third and fourth flights of ASLV, carried out in May 1992 and
May 1994, fully successful. This obviously encouraged the team to go for bigger
challenges: ISRO took up the more challenging task of designing PSLV and GSLV
launch vehicles. During the same period, Rao also initiated the development of
cryo-technology and the development of GSLV capable of launching 2-2.5 tons
class of satellites into geostationary orbit.
Leading the youngsters from the front, Rao,
introducing the “matrix management structure for optimal utilization of scarce
human resources across the projects, decentralizing decision making to the
level where technological expertise is available, and emphasizing on
configuration management and systems engineering practices of enhanced
coordination, interface control, quality assurance and professional
documentation”, proved conclusively that India can master high-end technology
and deliver world-class products.
Acclaiming his professional skills that built “a
robust space program in a democratic country, which is much more difficult than
in countries with autocratic rulers”, Rao was inducted into the Satellite Hall
of Fame in Washington by the Society of Satellite Professionals International
in March 2013. India’s space program owes a lot to this great departed soul.
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