Dr.Abdul Kalam - a story about rockets, an ocean and the TV
Hi there, if you read my previous post from last week, you would know that the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 had sent me into a tizzy (the happy kind, where you hop with joy). In addition to dreaming of smoke and rockets, I found some interesting comic book series on space (I’ll leave a link at the end of this post to a really interesting book I found). Hidden amongst all the stories I read and videos I watched, was a moving story narrated by Dr.Kalam (the same nice old man who became India’s president before spending some time fiddling around with rockets).
What do I do if I failed!
You’ve probably heard of another wise man called Dr.Vikram Sarabhai. He loved rockets and space (and loved DIY kits - he used his own carpentry tools at home to build them, even as a 12-yr old boy). After India’s independence, he had become the head of the space program and he had grand ideas. But, sending man to the moon was NOT one of them.
Instead, he wanted to build rockets that could help Indians do interesting things - like children watching good TV shows + farmers getting better ideas to grow food + people getting correct news from around the world. But there was a small hitch. All this required that India build its own rocket (also called a satellite launch vehicle) to send satellites into space.
Difference between a satellite and a rocket?
A satellite is a tiny object that rotates around a planet.
The rocket (or the satellite launch vehicle) is that which takes the satellite up into space and releases it. Along the way, the rocket parts fall down into the ocean once the fuel is used up.
Dr.Sarabhai passed away early in life. Another wise man called Prof.Satish Dhawan stepped into his shoes (imagine a smiling, gentle and a tall man, with a sharp mind). Till 1979, India had been launching rockets from Thumba, but these were made by other countries. By then, India’s space scientists had tried enough experiments to feel confident that they could build their own satellite launch vehicle (SLV). A young man called Abdul Kalam was made in charge of this mission. The mission was to develop and successfully launch India’s first satellite launch vehicle (the first vehicle was named SLV-3).
Prof.Kalam and his team worked hard and they were ready with their first version of SLV-3. In Aug 1979, they all assembled in the control room at an island called Sriharikota. The countdown began. Suddenly, the computer put a hold on the launch. The fuel was leaking. But Prof. Kalam thought there was enough fuel, so the launch could go ahead. So he overrode the computer and the rocket was fired off. It went up into the air for 5 mins and 15 seconds and then came plummeting down into the Bay of Bengal. There was silence in the room and the engineers and scientists were upset and disappointed. Dr.Kalam was terrified that he would be blamed for the entire failure.
But Prof.Satish Dhawan calmed his team, telling them that failures were common during rocket launches. He met the journalists from TV and radio. They were upset at the space scientists for ‘wasting money’ and ‘sending it to the bottom of the ocean’. Prof. Dhawan stood there calmly and took the blame on himself and told the country that ISRO would come back in a year and launch the rocket successfully.
The second attempt in 1980: Prof. Kalam and his team went back to work. They worked doubly-hard to find out what had gone wrong, fixed all the issues and came back in July, 1980 to Sriharikota. Once again, the team was ready to give the SLV-3 another try.
In the tense moments before liftoff, there came a different problem. One cable (a long rope) attached to the rocket refused to come off. Normally, the cable would be detached upon pressing a switch. But the switch refused to work. The launch was halted. It was dangerous to go near the rocket with all the explosive fuel trapped in it. Then came a savior. A technician called Bapiah volunteered to climb the tall rocket himself (the scientists in the control room could be seen praying for his safety). With a determined kick, Bapiah released the cable's grip. The rocket was free. He too was safe and back in the control room.
The countdown began once more. This time, the launch was successful. India had sent its first over rocket made by ISRO, into space. The whole control room erupted into cheers. Everyone was clapping and jumping. Prof. Kalam was lifted on the shoulders of his team members and paraded around the control room.
This time, Prof.Dhawan quietly celebrated by staying behind. He let Prof.Kalam take all the credit for the success. He did not meet the TV and radio journalists. Instead, he let Prof. Kalam and the other ISRO scientists receive all the praise and adulation. He stood behind quietly, with a smile on his face.
What a wonderful leader Prof.Dhawan was!
India’s rocket launching pad is in an island called Sriharikota. It is considered the second best launch pad in the world (after NASA’s launch pad in Florida).
This launch pad is named after Prof. Satish Dhawan (SDSC stands for Satish Dhawan Space Centre) If you’ve seen the Chandrayaan missions on TV, all those rockets fire off from SDSC.
Book recommendation: Click here to view the Science comic series on space that kids can enjoy (Nope, we don’t earn any money from this recommendation. This is a genuine reco from a few 10 and 11-yr olds who loved the book).