Taking help from abroad for space technology would have meant—firstly an extremely expensive deal with the developed countries, and secondly, this kind of deal would have meant dependence on them. India had already faced great problems in connection with military hardware and weapon systems during the wars of 1962 and 1965.
Prof. Sarabhai was a far-sighted scientist and a great patriot; and it was for this reason that, giving stress to self-sufficiency and self-reliance and, keeping in view the socio-economic benefits of space technology, he decided to build and launch sattelites in India with the help of indigenous means.
He finally selected Sriharikota island, 100 km north of Chennai, and brought into existence the SHAR Rocket Launch Station for launching rockets from there.
In order to conduct space research work in India, the INCOSPAR was reconstituted as an advisory body under the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Space Research Organization was created. Dr. Abdul Kalam’s industriousness and his sincerity was reason enough for Prof. Sarabhai to choose him to be the project leader of the team, formed to materialize his dream of an Indian SLV. Prof. Sarabhai entrusted Dr. Abdul Kalam and his team with the additional responsibility of designing the fourth stage of the SLV.
The other very special persons, who worked with Dr. Abdul Kalam, were Dr.V.R. Gowarikar, M.R. Kurup and A.E. Muthunayagam, who were great experts in their fields of performance.
Unless there is dedication, sincerity and interest in the job being performed by a team, a work can neither be enjoyed by it nor by its leader. But wonderful was the performance and the process of work of the SLV team. So far as Dr. Abdul Kalam is concerned, it can be said without a tinge of doubt that he had no element of bossism—he, on the contrary, believed in learning from anyone—be he younger or older, junior or senior. This kind of attitude of the leader of a team inspires the team-mates to perform fearlessly and also inspires them to co-operate with each other.
Once again it can be reiterated that Dr. Kalam believed in working in team spirit and would work with them pouring all his calibre into his performance, without caring for success or failure. He says—“I prefer a dash of daring and persistence to perfection. I have always supported learning on the part of my team members by paying vigilant attention to each of their attempts, be they successful or unsuccessful.” People used to feel surprised to see his simplicity, clean-heartedness and modesty. But all these virtues can be attributed to the inspiration that he used to draw from the Almighty; and it was with this kind of inspiration that he always excelled in his fields of performance. Criticism was not a thing that would bother him.
His greatest companion was his self-confidence—the confidence that he had a mentor like Prof. Sarabhai who was providing perfect guidelines to him; and that his team was working having thrown itself heart and soul into the project under his own leadership. Of course, Dr. Kalam kept himself in contact with the members of his team all along and throughout the SLV project, and acquainted them with all the intricacies of missile technology. This had a positive impact on the team members, and that, too, to such an extent that his team-mates worked without any hesitation and with sincerity, realizing their own share of responsibility. In this kind of system of work, everyone in the team had equal share of responsibility and at the same time, completion of work within a specified time frame would fill the members of the team with happiness and vital energy. And this energy would prove itself to be very useful for future course of activities and output.
It’s not that everything went very smoothly during the entire project work. Sometimes, during performance of a particular kind of job, one may have to experience unimaginable losses and unexpected circumstances. In fact, this is what happened. A time came when the French cancelled their Diamont BC Programme, saying that the stage IV was not needed by them any more. This came like a profound shock to Dr. Abdul Kalam and his team as they had worked hard on this project for two years, and they were almost ready to deliver it to CNES (Centre Nationale de Etudes Spatiales). Dr. Kalam had experienced a similar kind of shock earlier also in connection with Nandi hovercraft. Keeping in view the development of technology in connection with the SLV project, Dr. Kalam and his team were working day and night in order to be able to give the best possible output. And all this was aimed at materializing the dream of Prof. Sarabhai and strengthening our defence system. They wanted that India should become self-sufficient with regard to space research and rocket technology, so that India neither had to depend on foreign countries nor did it have to bear the load of foreign currency.
This important project was in progress and was underway when India had to experience the shock of the sad demise of Prof. Sarabhai on 30 December 1971. He had died of heart attack.
His passing away, thus, was indeed a great setback for India’s development in the field of sciences, rocket technology, and aeronautical engineering, and also for Dr. Abdul Kalam and his team. This was a loss which could never be made good—an irreparable loss. Still Dr. Kalam continued to work on the project applying all his calibre while maintaining complete harmony with his team.
Dr. Kalam has, in his autobiography, praised his team in many places very effectively. He says—“Each member of the SLV-3 project team was a specialist in his own field. It was natural therefore that each one of them valued his independence.” He had a rare quality of being able to win the faith of his team members. And it was this faith which always exhorted his team-mates to proceed continuously towards their goal and target of disposing of their responsibilities sincerely and successfully. Dr. Kalam has given a detailed description of the SLV in his autobiography; and it is in such details that students, interested in space technology, can benefit from it, if it is included in their text books for study. While working on any big project one may have to experience various kinds of difficulties along with experiences of ups and downs. After Prof. Sarabhai, Dr. Brahm Prakash, a senior scientist, became the guide and mentor of Dr. Kalam.
Dr. Kalam considered bureaucracy the greatest impediment in the path of progress—bureaucracy, which had in its clutches the entire financial power, meant to run the project. Under these circumstances Dr. Kalam often had to face unnecessary queries and unexpected responses from others. Since Dr. Kalam has great faith in God, he, considering his work worship of God, always considered and still considers God his true guide. Whenever he felt that the project might end abruptly owing to certain adverse circumstances, he prayed to God for help so that the SLV project continued unhindered.
The work on SLV-3 was in full swing, but still its subsystems were awaiting completion. For the development of work in progress and the success of some of the critical systems in the future, Dr. Abdul Kalam and his team used the Centaur sounding rocket launch in June, 1974. This time the result of the efforts of the engineers and scientists was such that their performance would epitomize complete success. The impact of the success was such that Prime-Minister Indira Gandhi told Parliament on 24 July 1974—“The development and fabrication of relevant technologies, subsystems and hardware (to make India’s first Sattelite Launch Vehicle) are progressing satisfactorily. A number of industries are engaged in the fabrication of components. The first orbital flight by India is scheduled to take place in 1978.”
Often a person, while rowing the life-like boat, may be confronted by such storms in his life that he may be challenged to apply all his wits, concentration and courage in order to be able to pass the tests posed by Nature.
Dr. Abdul Kalam, when he and his team were totally engrossed in the preparation of the static test of the first stage motor of the SLV-3, was informed of the sad demise of his brother-in-law and mentor, Jenab Ahmed Jallaluddin.
The happenings concealed in the womb of the future take such forms when delivered that sometimes it would mean that the destiny elects to play its role in a very cruel manner. The death of Dr. Kalam’s brother-in-law was one such example of the cruelty of destiny. Jenab Ahmed Jallaluddin was a man of wisdom. He was a great source of inspiration to Dr. Kalam during his childhood and adulthood. Shocked by his sudden death Dr. Kalam became a bit incoherent for a moment. He could not think clearly, he could not talk clearly.
Suddenly the memories of childhood days began haunting his mind. He began remembering the evening walks that he used to enjoy around the Rameswaram temple with his brother-in-law; he remembered how Jallaluddin had arranged money for his books; he remembered the affection with which he had come to see Dr. Kalam off at Santa Cruz airport. But above all these memories was one that one who used to call Dr. Kalam by the name of ‘Azad’ was no more.
Through bitter and tough experiences in life Dr. Kalam had learnt by then as to how to act with patience and maintain absolute mental equilibrium during such hours of crises. He somehow managed to leave a few instructions with Dr. S. Srinivasan, Deputy Project Director, to take care of the ongoing task and left with a heavy heart for Rameswaram. His eyes were filled with tears to see his sister, Zohara, and his niece, Mehboob, weeping bitterly. It is an irony of fate that Dr. Kalam’s father who was more than a hundred years old, became the pall-bearer for his son-in-law who had been half his age. There was no end to Zohara’s plight. She was doubly shocked as she had lost her four-year-old son also not very long ago.
Dr. Kalam’s father, despite being sad-stricken, consoled him and said—“Do you not see, Abul, how the Lord lengthens the shadows? Had it been his will, he could have made them constant. But he makes the sun their guide, little by little he shortens them. It is he who has made the night a mantle for you, and sleep a rest. Jallaluddin has gone into a long sleep—a dreamless sleep, a complete rest of all his being within simple unconsciousness. Nothing will befall us except what Allah has ordained. He is our Guardian. In Allah, my son, put your trust.” Such words can be spoken by a saintly person only.
This was one of the happenings which had profoundly shocked Dr. Kalam. He returned to Thumba with a heavy heart. The whole world seemed futile to him. It was of course very natural. But, Dr. Kalam, instead of brooding on the futility of life, engrossed himself in work once again with great zeal to complete the project. Prof. Dhawan was aware of the calibres of Dr. Kalam. He drew Dr. Kalam’s attention to the wonders of technology and its achievements. He enthused him to work on the SLV project with new zeal.
Yet the greater achievement was that the team of Dr. Kalam had continued the project work without being lackadaisical and with full sincerity even during his absence. And all this became possible only because Dr. Kalam had maintaind a very harmonious relation with his team-mates under all circumstances.
Truth is eternal. And one of the most important factors of the eternal ‘Truth’ is that God subjects those to toughest truths of life who are truthful, honest, sincere, and who have complete faith in Him. Challenging circumstances, one after the other, are the signs of God’s eternal love for those who put their trust in God. Once again Dr. Kalam was subjected to a bitter truth of life. Not very long after his brother-in-law’s death was he informed of the sad death of his father who had, eager to return to his divine source, left this world at the age of 102. This happened in the year 1976. His indifferent health during his last days due to advanced age was of course one reason, but the hardest fact that took a toll on his health and spirit was the death of his son-in-law who had been half his age. This was not an ordinary death. It was death of a person who had been an ideal father—a person who had his own principles and ideals, who had been honest and truthful throughout his life, who had been loyal to his family and the society as well; a person who was God-fearing and who epitomized divine love, and who was a true Muslim in all respects. He was laid to rest in peace with due honour.
One can understand Dr. Kalam’s plight from what he has written in his autobiography after the death of his father—“In worldly terms, it was the death of just another old man. No public mourning was organized, no flags were lowered to half mast, no newspaper carried an obituary for him. He was not a politician, a scholar, or a businessman. He was a plain and transparent man. My father pursued the supreme value, the Good. His life inspired the growth of all that was benign and angelic, wise and noble.”
Now all that was left in Dr. Abdul Kalam’s life was his mother’s kind blessings. She blessed him in a choked voice when he asked her permission to allow him to return to Thumba. Mother and son both were helpless. Neither Dr. Kalam could leave his job and live in Rameswaram permanently nor could his mother, being the custodian of the house, leave Rameswaram permanently and live with her son.
Keeping in mind the blessings of his mother, Dr. Kalam gathered all his energy and threw himself heart and soul into the SLV-3 project. Dr. Kalam had returned to Thumba not knowing that his mother was ordained not to live in this world for many more days. Dr. Kalam was required to rush to France in order to sort out certain problems which had arisen in connection with the SLV-3 Apogee rocket, developed as a common upper stage with Diamont, scheduled to be flight tested in France. God, once again, subjected Dr. Kalam to yet another tough test. Just before his departure as per the scheduled programme, he was conveyed, late in the afternoon, the shocking news of the death of his mother. Now reaching Rameswaram the soonest was on top priority for Dr. Kalam. He took the first available bus to Nagarcoil, travelled one whole night in the train, and reached Rameswaram in the morning. The next morning the last rites of his mother were performed by him.
Dr. Kalam’s philosophical attitude towards life and happenings in his life is clearly visible in his autobiography; and he very successfully conveys the most intricate and subtle feelings of his inner self in his writings. Being sad-stricken at the sad demise of his mother, he writes—“Both the people who had formed me had left for their heavenly abode. The departed had reached the end of their journey. I prayed in the mosque…I told Him that my mother could not have lived longer in the world without the care and love of her husband, and therefore had preferred to join him.” Then the other aspect of his approach is very philosophical. He receives a divine communication—“They carried out the task I designed for them with great care, dedication and honesty and came back to me. Why are you mourning their day of accomplishment? Concentrate on the assignments that lie before you, and proclaim my glory through your deeds!”
After returning to Thumba, Dr. Kalam was tired both mentally and physically. But what is done cannot be undone. It was all God’s wish. This is the only way one can console oneself. Now was the time when he had to work with full concentration and remain undeterred under all circumstances.
Dr. Kalam proceeded to France with full determination and ambition to fly an Indian rocket motor on foreign soil. There is a saying—‘God helps those who help themselves.’ Dr. Kalam returned from France after successfully testing the SLV-3 apogee motor. It was on his return that Dr. Brahm Prakash informed him that a great German scientist, Wernher von Braun, was coming to India. It was Wernher von Braun who had made the lethal V-2 (Vergel-tungswaffe) missiles—the missiles which had wroght havoc in London during the Second World War. Later during the final stages of the War, he was captured by the Allied Forces. Since, he was a genius par excellence, he was given a top position in the rocketry programme at NASA.
Wernher von Braun—a genius in true sense, a scientist, a designer, a production engineer, an administrator, a technology manager—all rolled into one, embracing only superlativs. He can be suitably called the father of modern rocketry, a giant of missile systems. He acquainted himself with the SLV-3 project of India and came out with great appreciation for it. As a token of elderly advice he cautioned Dr. Kalam against the aero-elastic problems during flight. Speaking on self-sufficiency in connection with rocketry in India, he said—“If you want to do anything in rocketry, do it yourself.” This kind of elderly advice had its own weight since SLV-3 project was a self-proven example of Indian technology and science.
Exhibiting his positive attitude towards performance in any sphere of life, Wernher von Braun commented—“SLV-3 is a genuine Indian design and you may be having your own troubles. But you should always remember that we don’t just build on successes, we also build on failures.” The most valuable advice that he rendered was—“…It is the goal that makes the difference. Do not make rocketry your profession, your livelihood—make it your religion, your mission.”
Dr. Kalam has mentioned in his autobiography that von Braun’s valuable advice suggested some kind of resemblence between von Braun and Prof. Vikram Sarabhai. This was a feeling which filled Dr. Kalam’s heart with happiness.
It is doubtlessly true that sometimes two persons having similar mental status, though born in two different places, are, by sheer providence, made to express their views sharing the same platform. Meeting of these two great personalities (Wernher von Braun and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam) brought out a lesson that one not only builds on successes but also builds on failures—a lesson which should be taken by everyone. Dr. Abdul Kalam, apart from being a successful and accomplished scientist, has proven himself to be a person who works with great enthusiasm and also one who is truthful and determined, accomplished and dedicated. He has emerged as a personality who will be worshipped in this world for centuries together. And this worship will not be worship of a person, rather it will be worship of qualities, virtues, accomplishments and achievements. A person, who detached himself completely from his kith and kin, who engrossed himself entirely in the SLV-3 project, forgetting the entire world, deserves to be worshipped thus.
Dr. Kalam and his team continued to work on the project with full enthusiasm and sincerity in order to make the mission successful.
This project saw many ups and downs, successes and failures, and finally the SLV-3 project was completed in the year 1979. The four-stage SLV rocket weighed 17 tonnes and its length was 23 metres. It was launched at 0758 hrs. on 10 August 1979 and took off following its programmed trajectory. The entire team was full of wonderful enthusiasm and there was a definite air of optimism and hopefulness. The place was Sriharikota. Everybody was watching the flight with curiosity and, to everyone’s satisfaction, the performance of stage I was perfect. But, suddenly, very unfortunately, the second stage went out of control and the flight was terminated after 317 seconds. The fourth stage of the SLV-3 project was the most favourite one of Dr. Abdul Kalam. The vehicle’s remains, including the fourth stage with the payload, splashed into the sea, 560 km. off Sriharikota.
The readers can understand what great shock it must have been for Dr. Kalam, his team and, other scientists involved in the project. Dr. Kalam watched the scene dumbfounded; he was shocked and angered to the extent that his legs became stiff as a result of disappointment. There was shock, anger, and frustration—all mixed together; enough to render him unable to answer the question—“What do you suppose could be the cause of it?”—when asked by someone in the Block House. Dr. Kalam’s eyes were open but he was not seeing anything; his ears were open but he was not hearing anything. He was too, too, far away from the place of his physical existence.
Dr. Kalam’s own words will describe his plight better—
“…I was too tired to try and think it out, and gave up the effort as futile. The launch was conducted in the early morning, preceded by a full night’s count-down. Moreover, I had hardly had any sleep in the past week. Completely drained—mentally as well as physically—I went straight to my room and slumped onto my bed.”
Everyone in the team was experiencing the bitterness of the failure caused by the unexpected mishap. Dr. Brahm Prakash went to Dr. Kalam’s room twice, and returned thinking that he should not be disturbed and should be allowed to sleep. The third time, when Dr. Brahm Prakash went into his room, it was late in the afternoon, almost approaching evening. He gave a gentle touch on the shoulder of Dr. Kalam, sitting by his bedside, and asked—“What about going for lunch?”
Dr. Kalam was moved to the core by the affection and concern shown by Dr. Brahm Prakash. This came like a great solace to him. He was once again filled with new kind of energy and confidence.
Time continued to roll on and the team of SLV-3 project continued to ponder and analyse the cause of failure and also continued to contemplate the future course of steps to be taken for success in launching the vehicle with perfection. Meanwhile, the newspapers had their own roles to play; some of the newspapers became too critical of the entire project, projecting their satirical views ruthlessly, without caring to know and tell the people of this country about the great sacrifices made by the scientists, about the mental agony suffered by them, about their sincerity towards the project even when they lost a member or two in the family, and also about their wholehearted involvement in the project under all adverse circumstances. These newspaper persons will never know that at times when some of the scientists met with an accident and were hospitalized for treatment, they felt sorry for the hindrance caused by the accident to the project work rather than feeling sorry for their own selves, their pains and sufferings. Dr. Kalam himself lost his brother-in-law, his father, and then his mother—all one by one—when the project work was in full swing. With all his dreams shattered on the one front, he kept alive his dreams of the SLV-3 project on the other front. How tough it must have been for him to keep himself cool and collected under such adverse circumstances and concentrate on the project work!
It is of utmost importance to acquaint our readers with the traumas experienced by some other scientists in the team and the performance of their heroic deeds under such trying and challenging circumstances. Since Dr. Kalam had lived all the traumatic experiences side by side with his colleagues, it would be best to narrate the happenings in his own words—
“Sudhakar was my colleague in the Payload Preparation Laboratory. As part of the pre-launch schedule, we were filling and remotely pressing the hazardous sodium and thermite mix. As usual, it was a hot and humid day at Thumba. After the sixth such operation, Sudhakar and I went into the payload room to confirm the proper fillings of the mix. Suddenly, a drop of sweat from his forehead fell onto the sodium, and before we knew what was happening, there was a violent explosion which shook the room. For a few paralysed seconds, I did not know what to do. The fire was spreading, and water would not extinguish the sodium fire. Trapped in this inferno, Sudhakar, however, did not lose his presence of mind. He broke the glass window with his bare hands and literally threw me out to safety before jumping out himself. I touched Sudhakar’s bleeding hands in gratitude, he was smiling through his pain. Sudhakar spent many weeks in the hospital recuperating from the severe burns he had received.”
The following is the account of what happened in 1979—
“In 1979, a six-member team was preparing the flight version of a complex second stage control system for static test and evaluation. The team was in countdown mode at T-15 minutes (15 minutes before the test). One of the twelve valves did not respond during checkout. Anxiety drove the members of the team to the test site to look into the problem. Suddenly the oxidizer tank, filled with red fuming nitric acid (RFNA), burst, causing severe acid burns to the team members. It was a very traumatic experience to see the suffering of the injured. Kurup and I rushed to the Trivandrum Medical College Hospital and begged to have our colleagues admitted, as six beds were not available in the hospital at that point of time.
Sivaramakrishnan Nair was one among the six persons injured. The acid had burned his body at a number of places. By the time we got a bed in the hospital, he was in severe pain. I kept vigil at his bedside. Around 3 o’clock in the morning, Sivaramakrishnan regained consciousness. His first words expressed regret over the mishap and assured me that he would make up the slippage in schedules caused by the accident. His sincerity and optimism, even in the midst of such severe pain, impressed me deeply.”
There is yet another example of the heroic deed of yet another hero of the team, who, while performing his duties, did not care for his life—
“At every stage, the SLV-3 was blessed with some extraordinarily courageous people. Along with Sudhakar and Sivaramakrishnan, there was also Sivakaminathan. He was entrusted with bringing the C-Band transponder from Trivandrum to SHAR for integration with the SLV-3. …On landing at the Madras airport, the aircraft which Sivakami was travelling in skidded and overshot the runway. Dense smoke engulfed the aircraft. Everyone jumped out of the aircraft through emergency exits, and desparately fought to save themselves—all except Sivakami, who stayed in the aircraft till he removed the transponder from his baggage. He was among the last few persons, the others being mostly aircraft crew, to emerge from the smoke and he was hugging the transponder close to his chest.”
Even the family members of our great scientists realized the importance and sanctity of the job being performed by them. The following instance in the words of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam reveals how sincere was the involvement of the kith and kin and family members of our scientists—
“…The launching of Agni was the common stake not only for our scientists, but for their families too. VR Nagaraj was the leader of the electrical integration team. Dedicated technologist that he is, Nagaraj would forget basic requirements, like food and sleep while on the integration gig. His brother-in-law passed away while he was at ITR. His family kept this information from Nagaraj so that there would be no interruption in his work towards the launching of Agni.”
Those striving for success for a good cause and for the welfare of an entire nation do have to encounter problems, difficulties, and failures, but it is the heroics of the heroes of any organization which lead them to success built on failures. Nothing succeeds like success.
Ultimately the day of success arrived and the last stage of the SLV-3 project was accomplished with flying colours. It was on 18 July 1980 at 0803 hrs. that India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle, SLV-3, was launched successfully from SHAR. Dr. Kalam, at 600 seconds before take off, was mighty pleased to see the computer displaying data about stage IV giving the required velocity to the Rohini Satellite (carried as payload) to enter its orbit. Another two minutes and Rohini was set into motion in a low earth orbit. At the moment of such grand success the most important words ever uttered by Dr. Abdul Kalam, in his life, were—“Mission Director calling all stations. Stand by for an important announcement. All stages performed to mission requirements. The fourth stage apogee motor has given the required velocity to put Rohini Satellite into orbit.”
This was a moment of joy, a moment of celebration. Dr. Kalam was hoisted onto the shoulders of his jubilant colleagues and carried in a procession amidst happy cries all around.
The successful launch of the Rohini Satellite became a deciding factor of the future of the Indian space programme. With this success, India had made its entry into the small group of Nations which possessed satellite launch capability. This was one hundred per cent indigenous effort. How grand and of vital importance the success was, can be measured from the fact that the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi cabled her congratulations to the Indian scientific community which doubled the happiness of Dr. Kalam and his team.
We may have a glimpse of Dr. Abdul Kalam’s modesty and large-heartedness from his statement—“The credit for the successful SLV-3 flight goes, first, to the giants of the Indian space programme, Prof. Sarabhai in particular, who had preceded this effort; next to the hundreds of VSSC personnel who had through sheer will-power proved the mettle of our countrymen and also, not least, to Prof. Dhawan and Dr. Brahm Prakash, who had led the project.”
