Who is first Indian astronaut?

Question

Answer

Rakesh Sharma

Answer

Benjamin Franklin

, one of the first early American scientist

Answer

In 1984, Indian Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma made history by becoming the first Indian to travel to space. Mr Sharma was part of the Soviet Union's Soyuz T-11 expedition, which was launched exactly 36 years ago on April 2, 1984.

Answer

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian Astronaut.

Answer

Rakesh Sharma

Wing Commander

Rakesh Sharma

AC

(born 13 January 1949) is a former

Indian Air Force

pilot who flew aboard

Soyuz T-11

on 3 April 1984 with the

Interkosmos

programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other

astronauts with an Indian background

who were not Indian citizens.

Early life

edit

Born on 13 January 1949 in

Patiala

,

Punjab

, India, Sharma attended

St. Georges Grammar School

Hyderabad

and graduated from

Nizam College

,

Hyderabad

. He was admitted to the National Defence Academy as an air force plebe in July 1966 and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a pilot in 1970, thereafter becoming the first man from India to go into space.

Career

edit

An alumnus of the 35th

National Defence Academy

, Sharma joined the Indian Air Force as a test pilot in 1970 and progressed through numerous levels where in 1984 he was promoted to the rank of

squadron leader

He was selected on 20

September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and go into space as part of a joint programme between the

Indian Air Force

and the Soviet

Interkosmos

space programme.

In 1984, Sharma became the first Indian citizen to enter space when he flew aboard the Soviet rocket

Soyuz T-11

launched from

Baikonur Cosmodrome

in the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

on 3 April 1984. The Soyuz T-11 spacecraft carrying cosmonauts including Sharma docked and transferred the three member Soviet-Indian international crew, consisting of the ship's commander,

Yury Malyshev

, and flight engineer,

Gennadi Strekalov

, to the

Salyut 7

Orbital Station. Sharma spent 7

days, 21

hours, and 40

minutes aboard the Salyut 7 during which his team conducted scientific and technical studies which included forty-three

experimental sessions. His work was mainly in the fields of bio-medicine and remote sensing. The crew held a joint television news conference with officials in

Moscow

and then Indian Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi

. When Gandhi asked Sharma how India looked from outer space, he replied, 'Sare Jahan Se Accha
' (the best in the world). This is the title of a patriotic poem by

Iqbal

that had been written when India was under British colonial rule, that continues to be popular today. With Sharma's voyage aboard

Soyuz T-11

, India became the 14th

nation to send a man to outer space.

Sharma retired as a

wing commander

and later joined

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

(HAL) in 1987, serving as the chief test pilot in the HAL Nashik Division until 1992, before moving on to

Bangalore

to work as HAL's chief test pilot. Sharma retired from flying in 2001.

Military awards and decorations

edit

Sharma was conferred the honour of the

Hero of the Soviet Union

upon his return from space. He remains to date the only Indian to have been conferred this honour. India also conferred its highest peacetime gallantry award, the

Ashoka Chakra

, on him and the two

Soviet members of his mission, Malyshev and Strekalov.

hope you can understand

Answer

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 with the Interkosmos programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other astronauts with an Indian background who were not Indian citizens.

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