ISRO celebrates Dr Vikram Sarabhai birth centenary

Bengaluru: On the occasion of 99th birth anniversary of India’s space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday, August 12 unveiled his bust at its headquarters here.

The space agency’s former chairmen K. Kasturirangan and A.S. Kiran Kumar, and incumbent Chairman K. Sivan were present on the occasion.

“Sarabhai chose space technology to reduce inequality. Under his guidance and leadership, India has been able to achieve what he had envisioned,” Sivan said.

The space agency will mark Sarabhai’s birth centenary in 2019 and celebrate the event through the year with space-related activities.

“To mark the centenary, knowledge centres will be set up across the country and scholarships, fellowships and the Sarabhai international award for innovation in space technology will be presented,” said Sivan.

“As the true tribute we can offer Sarabhai is through our space missions, we will launch nine missions over the next five months, with at least two a month,” asserted Sivan.