25th Anniversary of First Indian in Space - Rakesh Sharma

Planetary Society, India welcomes you all to this site. This site commemorates the 25th Anniversary of launch of first indian to space on 3rd April,1984.



About the launch in brief : In a historic mission in year 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program Rakesh Sharma (35 years at that time) along with two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 were launched into space where they spent eight days in Salyut 7 space station.

Mission Insignia



Look at the left side (chest) of Rakesh Sharma you will find the Mission patch with above insignia.

INDONAUT - Why this site calls iteself so ?

The question before us is what do we call a Indian on his mission to space. Presently different words are often seen in circulation in media and other formal documents like Gaganaut or anatriksha yaatri or Vishvanaut or brahmanaut Here is the interesting rationale behind this names. The name gaganaut, derived from gagana (meaning 'the heavens' or 'vast sky above us'), has become popular amongst the Indian space community as a term for Indian astronauts. The term antariksha yaatri has been suggested as a more proper name (antariksha signifies space beyond our Earth and yaatri means 'traveller'), and this is the name used in official documents, as well as the Indian media. Other suggestions include vishvanaut (vishva = world = this reality) and brahmanaut (brahmand = universe).


Indonaut : however its been long time since this word is in circulation. As par as my knowledge goes it was first heard in year 2004. ever since then the word Indonaut is gaining wider acceptance.

Anyways we will have online poll on this terminology! (not because its election time here) Importantly because it very crucial to decide how the world will know our future space explorers.

About Rakesh Sharma - Cosmonaut

Rakesh Sharma was born in Ludhiana, Punjab to Tripta and Devendranath Sharma. He went to St.Anns High School, Secunderabad and graduated from Nizam College in Hyderabad



Career
Rakesh Sharma joined the Indian Air Force and progressed rapidly through the ranks. Rakesh Sharma, then squadron leader and pilot with the Indian Air Force embarked on the historic mission in 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program and spent eight days in space aboard the Salyut 7 space station. Launched along with two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 3 April 1984, was 35-year-old Rakesh Sharma.

During Space Flight :
During the flight, Squadron Leader Sharma conducted multi-spectral photography of northern India in anticipation of the construction of hydroelectric power stations in the Himalayas.

Rakesh Sharma with other crew members :



Saare Jahan Se Achcha :
In a famous conversation, he was asked by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi how India looked from the space and he replied, Saare Jahan Se Achcha, (better than the whole world).

Honour :
He was conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union upon his return from space. The Government of India conferred its highest gallantry award(during peace time), the Ashoka Chakra on him and the other two Russian members of his mission.

Zero Gravity Yoga Exercises :
Squadron Leader Sharma and his backup, Wing Commander Ravish Malhotra, also prepared an elaborate series of zero-gravity Yoga exercises which the former had practised aboard the Salyut 7. Retired with the rank of Wing Commander, Rakesh Sharma joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as a test pilot. He was based at the National Flight Test Center (NFTC) in Bangalore and worked on the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft program.



Rakesh Sharma has now retired from active employment and is currently the Chairman of The Board for Automated Workflow.

In November 2006 he took part in India's top scientists gathering organized by ISRO which gave the green light to an Indian manned space mission.

Salyut 7 Space Station

Salyut 7 was one of the "second generation" Soviet manned space stations. Like its predecessor, Salyut 6, Salyut 7 had two axial docking ports, front and rear. For the first time this afforded the possibilty of using supply ferries (i.e., an unmanned Soyuz variant called "Progress") to bring supplies to the orbiting space station crew by docking at one port while a crew return vehicle (i.e., the Soyuz manned spacecraft) remained docked at the other port. Neither earlier Soviet space stations nor the American Skylab had the capabilty to be resupplied in this way. Using unmanned re-supply ferries opened up the possibility for space station crews to spend much longer periods in orbit.


Launched in 1982 Salyut 7 was occupied virtually continually by rotating crews of cosmonauts until 1986-7, when it was replaced by the Mir space station. Like all Soviet manned spacestations and spacestation modules, Salyut 7 was placed in orbit by a Proton rocket.

This model depicts Salyut 7 in its early days, before additional solar panels were added. Docked at one end is a Soyuz-T manned spacecraft and at the opposite docking port is a Progress unmanned supply ship. The model was entirely scratchbuilt, although the Soyuz-T and Progress are based on polyester resin casts made from molds taken off Revell's 1/96 Soyuz from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project kit. Two cosmonauts are depicted

making a spacewalk.

Soyuz Space Craft - Launch Vehicle

The Name SOYUZ - Space craft :
Soyuz (Russian: Союз, pronounced So’jus English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program. The first unmanned Soyuz mission was launched November 28, 1966; the first Soyuz mission with a crew (Soyuz 1) was launched April 23, 1967, but the cosmonaut on board, Vladimir Komarov, died during the flight's crash-landing. The first Soyuz flight which the crew survived (Soyuz 3) was launched October 26, 1968.

Currently, the Soyuz spacecraft family is still in service and has launched more human spaceflight missions than any other platform.[1] The Soyuz spacecraft is launched by the Soyuz launch vehicle, initially as part of the Soyuz program, and also as part of the unmanned Zond program. Soyuz spacecraft were used to carry cosmonauts to and from Salyut and later Mir Soviet space stations, and are now used for transport to and from the International Space Station. The International Space Station maintains a docked Russian Soyuz spacecraft at all times to be used as an escape craft in the event of an emergency.

Launch Vehicle :

Russian launch vehicles are named after the payload that they carry or the spacecraft they launch. In this case, it is called Soyuz after the eponymous capsule. The first manned capsule of this series was put into Earth orbit on 23 April 1967. With a curriculum vitae that includes over 1700 manned and unmanned launches, the Soyuz rocket is the most frequently used launch vehicle in the world.

Stages

The rocket consists of three stages that provide thrust at various points in the flight until the Soyuz capsule finally settles into orbit around the Earth. The first stage consists of four boosters, each about twenty metres in length. Together, they provide the main thrust in the first two minutes of the flight and are subsequently jettisoned. The second stage, or central core, takes care of the next 168 seconds.



Soyuz launcher

The three-stage Soyuz launcher






Fuel : In less than five minutes, the first two stages burn 225 000 kilograms of kerosene and liquid oxygen. When these have burned out, the third and last stage continues the upward trajectory.

Right at the top of the structure are the manned Soyuz capsule and the emergency rescue system. When the last 22 tonnes of fuel have also been converted into forward thrust, the crew are eight minutes and forty seconds into their journey and are making a low-level orbit around the Earth. The Soyuz spacecraft separates and will continue to climb under its own power to an altitude of about four hundred kilometres, where it will dock with the International Space Station.

About Soyuz T- 11 - Expedtion No.6

Soyuz T-11 was the 6th expedition to Salyut 7, and carried the first Indian cosmonaut to the Salyut 7 station.

Crew Members : Total 3 members were carried.

Names of the Cosmonauts :
1. Yuri Malyshev (2) - Commander
2.Gennady Strekalov (3) - Flight Engineer
3. Rakesh Sharma (India) (1) - Research Cosmonaut

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

Mission highlights :

Rakesh Sharma conducted an Earth observation program concentrating on India. He also did life sciences and materials processing experiments.

Date/Time of Launch : April 3, 1984 Time : 13:08:00 UTC

Place of Launch : Baikonur Cosmodrome LC31 Launch pad

Where did the Crew Stay and Where was Soyuz T-11 Docked ?

The crew stayed in Salyut 7 Space Station (one of the space stations built by Russia). Soyuz T-11 was docked to the space station.

Duration : the crew spent 7 Days 21 Hours 40 Minutes.

How did they Return to Earth?
The Crew members including Rakesh Sharma returned earth using Soyuz T-10 on 11th April 1984 at 10:48:48 UTC instead of Soyuz T-11 which brought them .
Soyuz T-10 (with 3 member Crew) was launched on February 8, 1984 12:07:26 UTC prior to Soyuz T-11. Soyuz T-10 was kept docked to space station since Feb,1984.

For Details of Soyuz T-10, its crew and when they returned click here.

Interesting thing : By the time Rakesh Sharma was to reach Salyut 7 space Station on 3rd April,1984 in Soyuz T-11. A crew consisting of
1. Leonid Kizim (2) - Commander
2. Vladimir Solovyov (1) - Flight Engineer
3. Oleg Atkov (1) - Research Cosmonaut

were already present since 8th February 1984. They were brought to the station using Soyuz T - 10 . However they returned home only on 2nd October 1984.

To know what crew of Soyuz T-10 did click here.

Other Info :

Mission parameters
• Mass: 6850 kg
• Perigee: 195 km
• Apogee: 224 km
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 88.7 minutes

Like any other Manned mission. This mission had a backup crew to replace the first selected members of the crew (before launch). Replacement would take effect incase of ill health or any other reasons deterimental to space flight of a crew member.

Backup crew
• Anatoli Berezovoy - Commander
• Georgi Grechko - Flight Engineer
• Ravish Malhotra (India) - Research Cosmonaut