https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=R._AravamudanR. Aravamudan - Revision history2026-10-29T15:10:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=R._Aravamudan&diff=527634&oldid=prevBrittnyFiorillo: put up new info2025-10-23T06:25:47Z<p>put up new info</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Indian patronymic|Aravamudan|Ramabhadran}}<br />
{{Short description|Indian space scientist and engineer (1936–2021)}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = R. Aravamudan<br />
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|10|07|df=yes}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Madras]], [[British Raj]]<br />
| death_date = {{death date and age |2021|08|04|1936|10|7|df=yes}}<br />
| death_place = [[Bangalore]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]<br />
| occupation = Space scientist and engineer<br />
}}<br />
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'''Ramabhadran Aravamudan''' (7 October 1936 – 4 August 2021)<ref>[https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-r-aravamudan-one-of-isro-s-early-pioneers-no-more-2904414 R. Aravamudan, one of ISRO's early pioneers, no more]</ref> was an Indian space scientist and engineer who was associated with the Indian space programme from its initial days in 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/flipping_book/53-SI-Oct-Dec-2003/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf|title=Space.india: 40 years of Indian Space Programme|publisher=ISRO|date=October–December 2003|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812103929/https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/flipping_book/53-SI-Oct-Dec-2003/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Through his career he served as the director of the [[Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station]], [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]], and the [[U R Rao Satellite Centre|ISRO Satellite centre]]. He was a recipient of the 2009 [[Aryabhata Award]] from the Astronautical Society of India.<br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Aravamudan was born into a middle-class family in [[Madras]] in the then-undivided India. He obtained a degree in electronics engineering from the [[Madras Institute of Technology]], where he was a first-rank holder.<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine|title=How India's Late President Learned About Rocket Science With NASA|url=https://time.com/3974888/apj-abdul-kalam-nasa/|access-date=30 October 2019|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref name=":2"/><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Aravamudan started his career with the [[Department of Atomic Energy|Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)]] at the [[Trombay]] Reactor Control Division.<ref name=":2"/> He was amongst the first to join the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO), then known as the [[Indian National Committee for Space Research]] (INCOSPAR), when he quit his job at the DAE in 1962 to move to [[Trivandrum]] to work with [[Vikram Sarabhai]], considered the father of India's space research.<ref name=":2"/> During this time, he also trained at [[NASA]]'s [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] on assembling and launching small rockets for collecting scientific data.<ref name=":1"/> When he was working with ISRO's rocket launching station at [[Thumba]], some of the most historic images of the rocket launch programme were captured by the French street photographer, [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]].<ref name=":2"/> Aravamudan documented the early days of the Indian space programme in a book, ''[[ISRO: A Personal History]]'', that he co-authored with his wife Gita Aravamudan. In the book, he writes about the conceptualisation of the programme, including selection of the launch site, the telemetry systems, and how the organisation worked with meagre resources owing to international embargoes and sanctions.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 February 2017|title=ISRO: A look at the history of India's space agency by one of its first rocket scientists |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/isro-a-look-at-the-history-of-indias-space-agency-by-one-of-its-first-rocket-scientists-3283980.html|access-date=7 August 2021|work=Firstpost}}</ref> <br />
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In the early 1970s, he served as the director of [[Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.isac.gov.in/directors/aravamudan.jsp|title=Sri. R. Aravamudan |website=isac.gov.in|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> In the 1980s, he became the associate director of [[Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre]]. In 1989, he took over as the director of [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]] and in 1994, he moved to Bangalore as the director of [[U R Rao Satellite Centre|ISRO Satellite Centre]].<ref name=":2"/> He retired from ISRO in 1997.<ref name=":2"/><br />
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Aravamudan was a recipient of the [[Aryabhata Award]] from the [[Astronautical Society of India]] in 2009 and the award for Outstanding Achievement from the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] in 2010.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|title=Sri. R. Aravamudan|url=https://www.ursc.gov.in/directors/aravamudan.jsp|access-date=7 August 2021|website=ursc.gov.in}}</ref><br />
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== Personal life ==<br />
Aravamudan was married to Gita Aravamudan, a journalist. The couple had two sons.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=R. Aravamudan, one of ISRO's early pioneers and tracking and telemetry expert, no more |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/r-aravamudan-one-of-isros-early-pioneers-and-tracking-telemetry-expert-no-more-403198|access-date=7 August 2021|work=Wio News}}</ref><br />
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Aravamudan died on 4 August 2021, at his house in Bangalore. He was aged 84.<ref name=":2"/> He had been diagnosed with [[kidney failure]] a year earlier.<ref name=":2"/><br />
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== Books ==<br />
* ''[[ISRO: A Personal History]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/amid-chandrayaan-2-mission-a-reminder-of-how-isro-grappled-with-setbacks-to-create-success-stories-7081281.html|title=Amid Chandrayaan 2 mission, a reminder of how ISRO grappled with setbacks to create success stories|website=Firstpost|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> co-authored with his wife, Gita {{ISBN|978-9-3526-4363-9}}<br />
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== Awards ==<br />
* The Aryabhata Award from The Astronautical Society of India (2009)<ref name=":3"/><br />
* Outstanding Achievement Award of ISRO (2010)<ref name=":0"/><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aravamudan, R.}}<br />
[[Category:1936 births]]<br />
[[Category:2021 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People from Chennai]]<br />
[[Category:ISRO people]]</div>BrittnyFiorillo