Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai is widely recognised as the father of India’s space programme, a title formally acknowledged by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which describes him as the founding figure who laid the institutional and scientific foundations of the country’s modern space efforts.

Long before India became known for lunar missions, Mars exploration, and satellite launches, Sarabhai argued that space technology could be used as a practical tool for development, education, and national planning.India’s recent achievements in space exploration, including the Chandrayaan missions and the Mars Orbiter Mission, are often traced back to Sarabhai’s early vision in the 1960s, when global space research was still largely dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union.

ISRO states that Sarabhai recognised early that a developing country like India could not ignore the strategic and social value of space applications, particularly in communications, meteorology, education, and resource management.Born on August 12, 1919, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Sarabhai belonged to the prominent industrialist family of Ambalal and Sarla Devi.

According to the Master Control Facility, one of ISRO’s major establishments, he was one of eight children in what it describes as an affluent and progressive household. His early education took place at a private school called “Retreat,” run by his parents on Montessori principles, reflecting a strong emphasis on independent learning and scientific curiosity from an early age.

After completing his matriculation, Sarabhai moved to England to study at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he pursued Natural Sciences and completed his Tripos in 1940. The outbreak of World War II interrupted his stay abroad, leading him to return to India. He joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru as a research scholar under Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman, one of India’s most prominent physicists.

During this period, Sarabhai focused on solar physics and cosmic rays, fields that would later shape his scientific outlook toward atmospheric and upper-space research. The Master Control Facility notes that he established multiple observation stations across the country, including in Bengaluru, Pune, and the Himalayan region, and built much of the required equipment himself.

He returned to Cambridge in 1945 and completed his PhD in 1947.His scientific work gradually expanded into institution building, an area in which he would leave one of his strongest legacies. ISRO describes him as a “great institution builder” who established or helped establish a large number of organisations across diverse fields.

His contributions extended beyond space science into management education, industrial research, and national development planning.The turning point in India’s space ambitions came during the early 1960s. According to ISRO, Sarabhai was deeply influenced by the successful live transmission of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games across the Pacific Ocean through the American communications satellite Syncom-3.

The demonstration showed him how satellite technology could transform communications in a geographically vast and socially unequal country like India.ISRO notes that at a time when satellite applications were still in experimental stages even in the United States, Sarabhai quickly recognised that India could use similar technologies to address developmental challenges.

His focus was not on prestige-driven exploration, but on practical applications such as rural education, weather forecasting, and telecommunications.Acting on his recommendations, the Government of India established the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. Sarabhai played a central role in its formation and direction. One of his earliest strategic decisions was the selection of Thumba, a small fishing village near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, as the site for India’s first rocket launching station.

The location was chosen because of its proximity to the geomagnetic equator, which made it ideal for upper atmospheric and ionospheric studies. This facility became the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), a foundational site in Indian space history. ISRO records that the first sounding rocket was launched from TERLS on November 21, 1963, marking the beginning of India’s formal space science exploration.

These early missions focused on studying the Earth’s upper atmosphere and ionosphere, particularly equatorial phenomena. ISRO states that the initial scientific motivation was to understand equatorial objects and atmospheric processes, but Sarabhai’s broader goal remained national development through technology.

He strongly advocated the use of satellite television to bring educational content to remote and underserved parts of India, years before such systems became common globally. His belief was that scientific advancement should directly support social progress, especially in a country facing large developmental inequalities.

This philosophy shaped the formal creation of the Indian Space Research Organisation on August 15, 1969. ISRO emerged as the institutional successor to INCOSPAR and became the central body for India’s civilian space programme.

Under Sarabhai’s leadership, the organisation pursued both scientific research and long-term planning for indigenous satellite development.He also initiated projects for constructing and launching an Indian satellite, setting in motion efforts that would eventually lead to the launch of Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, in 1975.

Although Sarabhai did not live to witness that milestone, the satellite programme was widely seen as the continuation of the framework he had established.Sarabhai died on December 30, 1971, at the age of 52. His death came at a critical phase of India’s scientific institution-building, but by then he had already established the intellectual and administrative architecture for the country’s long-term space ambitions.

His contributions were recognised nationally through major civilian honours. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1966 for his contributions to science and public affairs. In 1972, a year after his death, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour.

His legacy remains deeply embedded in India’s scientific infrastructure. ISRO’s principal launch and research centre in Thiruvananthapuram was named the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, reflecting his central role in shaping the institution.

The naming is widely seen within India’s scientific community as a lasting acknowledgement of the individual who first argued that space research should be treated as a national necessity rather than a distant ambition.

Today, as India expands its presence in lunar exploration, planetary missions, and commercial satellite launches, Sarabhai’s original framework continues to define the programme’s philosophy.

His central argument that advanced technology must ultimately serve public welfare remains one of the most enduring principles of India’s space policy.

India’s space ambitions got a boost when it became the first country to land a spacecraft near the unexplored south pole of the moon in August, just days after a similar Russian mission failed, and the fourth overall to achieve a soft landing.

After that success, India launched a rocket to study the sun and is scheduled conduct a test later this week as part of its crewed space mission.

“Prime minister directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the moon by 2040,” the government said in a statement.

“To realize this vision, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for moon exploration,” it added.

Modi has also called on scientists to work on missions to Venus and Mars.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) LVM3 launch rocket blasted off from the country’s main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Friday afternoon, leaving behind a plume of smoke and fire.

About 16 minutes later, ISRO’s mission control announced that the rocket had succeeded in putting the Chandrayaan-3 lander into an Earth orbit that will send it looping toward a moon landing next month.

If the mission succeeds, India would join a group of three other countries that have managed a controlled lunar landing, including the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would also be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station.

The rocket blasted off from India’s main spaceport at 2:35 p.m. local time (0905 GMT). Over 1.4 million people watched the launch on ISRO’s YouTube channel, many offering congratulations and the patriotic slogan “Jai Hind” (Victory to India).

In 2020, ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash near where the Chandrayan-3 will attempt a touchdown.

Chandrayaan, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, includes a 2-metre-(6.6-foot)-tall lander designed to deploy a rover near the moon’s south pole, where it is expected to remain functional for two weeks running a series of experiments.

The lunar landing is expected on Aug. 23, ISRO has said.

The launch is India’s first major mission since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced policies to spur investment in space launches and related satellite-based businesses.

Modi had earlier said on Twitter that the moon mission “will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation”.

“As Mother India enters into the next 25 years, she pledges to play a leading global role in the emerging world scenario,” Deputy Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in an event at the spaceport to celebrate the launch.

Since 2020, when India opened to private launches, the number of space startups has more than doubled. Late last year, Skyroot Aerospace, whose investors include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, launched India’s first privately built rocket.

The delegation led by Space Commission’s CEO Dr. Mohammed Saud Al-Tamimi, visited India between March 6-10, and held extensive discussions with a number of Indian organizations, including the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian space-related business entities including New Space India Limited and Centum Electronics.

Dr. Al-Tamimi met with S. Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, during the trip, and he also paid visits to the U R Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Saudi delegation also visited the National Remote Sensing Centre, and the Indian Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies.

India and Saudi Arabia have a significant amount of space cooperation, and it is anticipated that this visit will improve their relationship in this sector.

Dr. Al-Tamimi received an invitation from ISRO Chairman to attend the G20 Space Economy Leaders Conference in Bengaluru in July 2023. Also, Dr. Al-Tamimi extended an invitation to the Chairman to attend the Space Economy Forum scheduled for Saudi Arabia at the end of this year.

The visit is viewed as a move in the right direction for advancing the two nations’ relationship in the space industry.