MDPOliva97: made some info v1

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made some info v1

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{{Short description|Indian scientist (born 1931)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nilamber Pant
| image =
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1931|07|25}}
| birth_place = [[Almora]], [[Uttarakhand]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| restingplace =
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| othername =
| occupation = Space scientist
| yearsactive =
| known for = Indian space programme
| spouse =
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents =
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr. [[Vikram Sarabhai]] Research Award Dr. Biren Roy Space Award Aryabhata Award [[Vikram Sarabhai]] Memorial Award [[Indian Space Research Organization|ISRO]] Performance Excellence Award [[Indian Space Research Organization|ISRO]] Lifetime Achievement Award
}}

'''Nilamber Pant''' (born 25 July 1931) is an Indian space scientist, a former member of the ''Space Commission of India'' and a pioneer of satellite based communication and broadcasting in India.<ref name="Shri N. Pant">{{cite web | url=http://www.sac.gov.in/SACSITE/asac-leaders-col.html | title=Shri N. Pant | publisher=Space Applications Centre, ISRO | date=2015 | access-date=18 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721124753/http://www.sac.gov.in/SACSITE/asac-leaders-col.html | archive-date=21 July 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> He served at the [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]] and the [[ISRO Satellite Centre]] before becoming the vice chairman of the [[Indian Space Research Organization]] (ISRO).<ref name="President at home">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/06/stories/2005050608210100.htm | title=President at home | date=6 May 2005 | work=[[The Hindu]] | access-date=18 July 2015}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The [[Government of India]] awarded Pant the [[Padma Shri]], the fourth-highest civilian honour in India, in 1984.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India]] |date=2015 |access-date=18 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

==Biography==
Pant was born in [[Almora]], in the Indian state of Uttarakhand <ref name="Padma Awards from Uttarakhand">{{cite web | url=http://www.apnauttarakhand.com/padma-awards-from-uttarakhand/ | title=Padma Awards from Uttarakhand | publisher=Apna Uttarakhand | date=2015 | access-date=19 July 2015}}</ref> on 25 July 1931 and did his schooling and pre-graduate studies at local institutions in Almora.<ref name="Shri N. Pant" /> He graduated from [[Lucknow University]] in 1948 and secured his post graduate degree from the same institution in 1952, in Physics with Wireless as a major.<ref name="Shri N. Pant" /> Joining the [[Indian Space Research Organization]] (ISRO), his first significant task was the establishment of an Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station (ESCES) at [[Ahmedabad]], a first of its kind in India, in 1965 as a member of the task force entrusted with the responsibility. Later, he completed the first commercial earth station as the Chief Systems Engineer at Arvi, a village around 21 km from [[Pune]], in 1971. During the next five years, he was involved with the development and installation of [[Satellite Instructional Television Experiment]] (SITE) at the [[Earth Station]]s located in [[Ahmedabad]], [[Delhi]] and [[Amritsar]].<ref name="Shri N. Pant" />

Pant served as the director of the Experimental Satellite Communications Earth Station, Ahmedabad and as the chairman of the Communication Area, [[Space Applications Centre]], Ahmedabad before being appointed as the director of the [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]] (SHAR, ISRO) in 1977. It was during his tenure as the director, ISRO that the first four launches of the [[SLV-3]], in 1979, 1980, 1981<ref name="SLV-3: Pyre in the sky">{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/science-and-technology/story/19810630-rohini-satellite-makes-a-fiery-re-entry-into-earths-atmosphere-773017-2013-11-20 | title=SLV-3: Pyre in the sky | publisher=[[India Today]] | date=30 June 1981 | access-date=19 July 2015}}</ref> and 1983 respectively, were executed<ref name="SLV">{{cite web | url=http://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/slv | title=SLV | publisher=[[ISRO]] | date=2015 | access-date=19 July 2015 | archive-date=29 May 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529133357/http://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/slv | url-status=dead }}</ref> under the leadership of [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]].<ref name="President at home" /> His next posting was as the director of the [[ISRO Satellite Centre]] at Bengaluru in 1985 where he oversaw the IRS, SROSS and INSAT-2 projects. He also chaired the INSAT-1 Project Management Board during this period.<ref name="Shri N. Pant" /> In 1999, he was inducted into the ''Space Commission of India'' as a member and the next year, he became the vice chairman of the [[Indian Space Research Organization]], a post he held till his superannuation on 31 July 1991.<ref name="Shri N. Pant" />

Pant received the ''Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Research Award'' in 1976<ref name="Shri N. Pant" /> and the [[Government of India]] awarded him the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 1984.<ref name="Padma Awards" /> The next year, he received the Dr. Biren Roy Space Award from the [[Aeronautical Society of India]] and the Aryabhatta Award of the Astronautical Society of India reached him in 1995.<ref name="Aryabhata Awards">{{cite web | url=http://asindia.org/awardees1.aspx | title=Aryabhata Awards | publisher=Astronautical Society of India | date=2015 | access-date=19 July 2015}}</ref> At the 92nd [[Indian Science Congress]] held at Ahmedabad in 2005, he was awarded the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award.<ref name="Shri N. Pant" /> The Indian Space Research Organization awarded him the ''Performance Excellence Award'' in 2006 and followed it up with the ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' in 2010.<ref name="40th Anniversary of Aryabhata Launch">{{cite web | url=http://www.isro.gov.in/update/20-apr-2015/40th-anniversary-of-aryabhata-launch | title=40th Anniversary of Aryabhata Launch | publisher=ISRO | work=2015 | access-date=19 July 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]]
* [[ISRO Satellite Centre]]
* [[Indian Space Research Organization]]
* [[Rohini (satellite)]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal|India|Science}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{1900s Padma Shri Award Recipients in Science & Engineering}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pant, Nilamber}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering]]
[[Category:People from Almora district]]
[[Category:Scientists from Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:ISRO people]]
[[Category:University of Lucknow alumni]]
[[Category:Indian space scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian scientists]]

Nilamber Pant - Revision history

MDPOliva97: made some info v1