Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Aerospace engineer who led India's first satellite launcher, SLV-3, to orbit in 1980, later ran the missile programme, and served as the 11th President of India.
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015)
Contribution
Kalam's best-known space work is the SLV-3, India's first home-built rocket able to reach orbit. He led the team that designed and built it. On 18 July 1980 it placed the Rohini satellite in low Earth orbit, making India one of the few countries able to launch its own satellites.
After SLV-3 he became Director of ISRO's launch vehicle programme and worked on the designs of later rockets.
Career
Kalam was born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. He studied at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, and took a degree in aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He first worked for the Ministry of Defence, then joined INCOSPAR as a rocket engineer in Vikram Sarabhai's team.
In 1982 he moved to the Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Hyderabad, where he headed the integrated guided missile programme that produced the Prithvi and Agni missiles. In 1992 he became Director General of DRDO and Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister.
He received the Bharat Ratna in 1997. He was President of India from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007. He died at Bethany Hospital, Shillong, on 27 July 2015.
Linked missions
- SLV-3: Project Director; successful orbital launch on 18 July 1980.
- Rohini: the satellite SLV-3 carried to orbit in 1980.