Udupi Ramachandra Rao, the man behind India's first space Satellite demised at Bengaluru today. His loss is another major one for the nation as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Saddened by the demise of renowned scientist, Professor UR Rao. His remarkable contribution to India's space programme will never be forgotten."
UR Rao lived as a Space Scientist and served as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He launched India's first space satellite 'Aryabhatta'. He last served as the Chairman of the governing council of the physical research laboratory and the Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Science and Technology at Thiruvananthapuram.
What is the educational qualification of Former ISRO Chairman UR Rao?
- He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Madras University in 1952
- He got his Masters in Science from Banaras Hindu University in 1954
- After six years of research, he acquired a doctorate from the Gujarat University in 1960
Scientist UR Rao's career
- He started his career as a faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- He became the Assistant Professor at University of Texas at Dallas and experimented quite some projects with the help of the varsity
Scientist Career
- After completing his research, he joined as the Cosmic Ray Scientist at MIT
- The first Indian satellite "Aryabhata" in 1975, over 18 satellites including Bhaskara, APPLE, Rohini, INSAT-1 and INSAT-2 series of multipurpose satellites and the IRS-1A and IRS-1B remote sensing satellites were designed, fabricated and launched for providing communication, remote sensing and meteorological services.
- He became the Chairman of ISRO in 1985
- He has also held other venerable positions such as Chairman, Karnataka State Science and Technology, Chairman, Bangalore Association of Science Education-JNP, Chancellor, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Member, Central Board of Directors, Reserve Bank of India, Additional Director, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd., Bangalore, Chairman of the Governing Council of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
In January 2017, he was conferred the Padma Vibhushan. After he received the award, he had joked, " I thought I would get this award posthumously. Alas, he died the same year on 24 July 2017 (today).