Satish Dhawan

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Satish Dhawan
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Alma mater
  • BE
    )
  • MS
    )
  • PhD
    )
Known for
Indian space programme
AwardsPadma Bhushan(1971)
Indian Space Research Organisation
Indian Institute of Science
California Institute of Technology
National Aerospace Laboratories
Thesis Direct Measurements of Skin Friction  (1951)
Doctoral advisorHans W. Liepmann
Signature
Satish Dhawan
ISRO
In office
1972–1984
Preceded byM. G. K. Menon
Succeeded byUdupi Ramachandra Rao

Satish Dhawan (25 September 1920 – 3 January 2002) was an Indian

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1972. The second launch pad of ISRO, Satish Dhawan space centre is named after him. He is greatly regarded as the man behind A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[citation needed
]

Education

Dhawan was a graduate of what is now called

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and an aeronautical engineering degree from the California Institute of Technology followed by a double PhD in mathematics and aerospace engineering under the supervision of his advisor Hans W. Liepmann in 1951.[citation needed
]

Leadership in space research

Main article:
Indian Space Research Organisation

In 1972, Dhawan became chairman of the

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and secretary to the Government of India at the Department of Space
.

APJ Abdul Kalam explained that in 1979 when he was the director of a Satellite Launch Vehicle, the mission failed to launch the satellite in the orbit. Instead, it was put into Bay of Bengal. Abdul Kalam's team knew that there was a leakage in the fuel of the system, but they hoped that the leakage was negligible, and thus they thought there was enough fuel in the system. This miscalculation led to the mission's failure. Satish Dhawan, being the chairman at the time, called Abdul Kalam and conveyed to the press; "We failed! But I have very strong trust in my team and I believe that next time we will definitely succeed". This surprised Abdul Kalam, as the blame of the failure was taken by the chairman of ISRO
. The next mission was prepared and launched successfully in 1980. When this succeeded, Satish Dhawan told Abdul Kalam to attend the press meet without his presence. It was observed that when the team failed, he took the blame. But when the team succeeded, he attributed the success to his team, thus portraying the picture of an ideal leader.

Satish Dhawan was chairman of

ISRO
until 1984.

Director, IISc (1962–1981)

Dhawan joined as faculty at the

trisonic flows.[1]

Support of space research

Dhawan carried out pioneering experiments in rural education,

IRS, the Indian Remote Sensing satellite; and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), that placed India in the league of space faring nations.[citation needed
]

Honours

Dhawan died on 3 January 2002 in

Satish Chander Dhawan Government College For Boys in Ludhiana is named after him.The Department of Mechanical Engineering Building at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar is also named in his honor as the Satish Dhawan Block. In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh Textile Technology Institute
in Kanpur named its computer center the Prof. Satish Dhawan Computer Centre.

Career
  • Senior Scientific Officer, 1951
  • Professor and Head of the Department of
    Aeronautical Engineering
    , 1955
  • Director, 1962–1981[3]
  • Visiting Professor, 1971–72
  • Chairman, Research council, 1984–93
  • President, 1977–1979
  • Indian Space Research Organisation
  • Chairman, 1972–1984
  • Indian Space Commission
  • Chairman, 1972–2002

Awards

  • Padma Vibhushan (India's second highest civilian honour), 1981[4]
  • Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour), 1971[4]
  • Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, 1999
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Science
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, California Institute of Technology, 1969

Personal life

Satish Dhawan was born on 25 September 1920 in Srinagar in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (present-day Jammu and Kashmir, India) in a Saraiki Hindu family. His father came from Dera Ismail Khan,[5] and Satish Dhawan grew up in Lahore and Kashmir. He was married to Nalini Dhawan, a cytogeneticist, and his daughter Jyotsna Dhawan is serving as Senior Principal Scientist in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.

Works

References

  1. ^ "Satish Dhawan : Legends of GALCIT". Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Satish Dhawan passes away". The Hindu. 5 January 2002. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  3. ^ "About IISc Heritage". Indian Institute of Science. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ^ "My Father, Satish Dhawan". Indian Institute of Science. Retrieved 21 June 2020.

External links
Government offices
Preceded by
M. G. K. Menon
 ISRO Chairman
1972–1984 		Succeeded by
U. R. Rao
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