Satish Dhawan
He was a pioneer and innovator for Indian space science
25 September 2020 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of famous Indian rocket scientist Professor Satish Dhawan. He is considered to be the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India and was key in making the nation’s space program what it is today.
Dhawan was born in Srinagar, India, and was well educated, with a peculiar array of qualifications gained from the University of Lahore, now in Pakistan. This includes a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics and a master’s degree in English literature, finished off with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. His inquisitive academic nature then took him abroad to the US, where he received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in Minneapolis and a PhD in aeronautics and mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). It was here, under the tutelage of Hans W. Liepmann, where his interests in fluid dynamics peaked.
After his academic adventure in the US came to an end in 1951, Dhawan returned home and joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as a scientific officer. After a decade of revolutionising engineering science and mechanics in the country, he became the institute’s director.
During this decade he masterminded the construction of the country’s first high-speed aerodynamics and boundary layer laboratories, also managing to do so at a low cost.
In 1972 Dhawan became the third chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), following on from the space agency’s founder Vikram Sarabhai and Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon. During his tenure as chairman, Dhawan was able to guide the space agency through a remarkable period of growth that benefitted the entire country.
This immense task required great leadership, coordination and an ability to raise senior staff to his high standards – both scientific and administrative. What followed was a period of evolution for Indian space science, and the
ISRO was able to address nationwide issues with communication, meteorology and education, goals which the objective founder Sarabhai had outlined from the start.
The Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment (APPLE), launched on 19 June 1981, was a particularly interesting project that demonstrates this progression. This payload provided the first invaluable opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a communications satellite in orbit around Earth, as well as relaying TV programmes and radio networking across the country. This received much praise, and the Indian prime minister at the time, Indira Gandhi, signified this as the ‘dawn of India’s satellite communication era’.
It is clear that wherever Dhawan went, he excelled at bringing a certain scientific standard and commitment with him. His contributions to science, centred around fluid dynamics research and aerospace engineering, were groundbreaking at the time, but his structural and organisational innovations and leadership qualities were equally as important. Now the Indian space agency has multiple satellites in low-Earth orbit, and even one around Mars.
For all his efforts, Dhawan received many awards, including the Padma Vibhushan – the country’s second-highest civilian honour – and the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.
“He masterminded the construction of the country’s first boundary layer laboratory”