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{{Short description| | {{Short description|Indian Air Force pilot}} | ||
{{good article}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} | ||
{{Infobox astronaut | {{Infobox astronaut | ||
|name =Ravish Malhotra | |name =Ravish Malhotra | ||
|image = | |image = Wing Commander Ravish Malhotra edit.jpg | ||
|caption = | |caption = | ||
|type = [[Intercosmos]] Research Cosmonaut | |type = [[Intercosmos]] Research Cosmonaut | ||
| | |alma_mater = [[National Defence Academy (India)|National Defence Academy]] | ||
|status = | |status =Retired | ||
|birth_date ={{Birth date and age|1943|12|25|df=yes}} | |birth_date ={{Birth date and age|1943|12|25|df=yes}} | ||
|birth_place =[[Lahore]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]], [[British India]] | |birth_place =[[Lahore]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]], [[British India]] | ||
|occupation =[[Test pilot|Test Pilot]] | |occupation =[[Test pilot|Test Pilot]] | ||
|rank = | |rank = | ||
|selection =[[List of astronauts by selection#1982|1982]] | |selection =[[List of astronauts by selection#1982|1982]] | ||
|missions = | |missions =[[Soyuz T-11]] | ||
|retirement = {{ | |retirement = | ||
}} | |honorific_prefix=[[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]]|module={{Infobox military person| embed = yes | ||
| allegiance = {{flag|India}} | |||
| branch = {{air force|India}} | |||
| rank = [[File:Indian IAF OF-6.svg|32px]] [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] | |||
| serviceyears = 1963 to 1994 | |||
| servicenumber = 7673 F(P) | |||
| spouse=Mira Malhotra | |||
| children=2 | |||
}}|awards=[[File:Kirti Chakra ribbon.svg|32px]] [[Kirti Chakra]] <br />[[File:Order_friendship_of_peoples_rib.png|32px]] [[Order of Friendship of Peoples|Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples]]}} | |||
'''Ravish Malhotra''' (born 25 December 1943 in [[Lahore]], [[British India]]) is a retired [[Air commodore (India)|air commodore]] of the [[Indian Air Force]]. He was an Air Force [[test pilot]] stationed at the test centre in [[Bangalore]]. He was also the Air Officer Commanding of [[Hindon Air Force Station]] near Delhi. | |||
In 1982, he was chosen to train for spaceflight in the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[Intercosmos]] program. Malhotra served as backup for [[Rakesh Sharma]] on the [[Soyuz T-11]] mission to [[Salyut 7]] [[space station]] which launched the first Indian into space, but never went to space himself. Malhotra was awarded the Soviet [[Order of Friendship of Peoples]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Soviets, Indian end nine-day space trip|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19840412&id=EOZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5663,2688543|last=|first=|date=12 April 1984|website=news.google.com|publisher=Eugene Register-Guard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222308/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19840412&id=EOZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5663,2688543|archive-date=28 August 2022|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> in 1984 and the [[Kirti Chakra]] in 1985.<ref name=":5" /> | |||
[[File:Rakesh Sharma Chest Patch.svg|thumb|Chest patch he would have worn if he was on the primary crew assignment for Soyuz T-11]] | |||
== Early life == | |||
Malhotra was born on 25 December 1943 in [[Lahore]], in the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] of [[British India]] into a [[Punjabi Hindu]] family with three other siblings.<ref name=":0" /> His mother was Raj Malhotra and his father was SC Malhotra.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Gallantry Awards {{!}} Ministry of Defence, Government of India |url=https://gallantryawards.gov.in/awardee/20 |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=gallantryawards.gov.in |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222054/https://gallantryawards.gov.in/awardee/20 |url-status=live }}</ref> His family moved from Lahore to Delhi after India's [[India independence|independence from Britain]] and the subsequent [[Partition of India|partition]] in 1947.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Abraham|first=Rohan|title='Rakesh Sharma or Ravish Malhotra? Only one of us would go up into space'|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ravish-malhotra-learnt-russian-in-3-months-for-indo-soviet-space-mission/articleshow/70339620.cms|access-date=2021-12-30|archive-date=30 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230054339/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ravish-malhotra-learnt-russian-in-3-months-for-indo-soviet-space-mission/articleshow/70339620.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The family settled in [[Calcutta]]. Malhotra studied at [[St Thomas School, Kolkata|St Thomas School]] in Calcutta.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abraham |first=Rohan |date=2019-07-23 |title='Rakesh Sharma or Ravish Malhotra? Only one of us would go up into space' |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ravish-malhotra-learnt-russian-in-3-months-for-indo-soviet-space-mission/articleshow/70339620.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-12-01 |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> | |||
== Career == | |||
=== Early career === | |||
After graduation, he was admitted to the [[National Defence Academy (India)|National Defence Academy]] (NDA). Speaking of his career choices, he would later say that he had wanted to join the [[Indian Navy]] but was instead drafted into the [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF). During the selections, he was told that his eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, while the Air Force had a shortage of cadets at the time.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> | |||
''' | After graduating from the NDA, Malhotra was [[Commissioned officer|commissioned as an officer]] in 1963 and assigned to the ''Vampire Squadron'' of the Indian Air Force, flying the [[De Havilland Vampire]]. During this period, he was posted to the IAF base in [[Barrackpore]] near Calcutta. He progressively graduated to flying other aircraft including the [[Dassault Mystère]], [[HAL HF-24 Marut]], and the Soviet [[Sukhoi Su-22]].<ref name=":0" /> | ||
Malhotra was part of the IAF fighter squadron that was tasked with air raids over Pakistan in 1971, after that country had launched strikes on India prior to the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]. He flew the Sukhoi Su-22 in over 17 sorties into Pakistani air space.<ref name=":0" /> In one attack in the [[Chamb-Jaurian]] sector in what was then Western Pakistan, his plane was at the receiving end of heavy anti-aircraft gunfire, but he nevertheless returned to his air base in India.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> The war ended with the successful liberation of Bangladesh.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Dev|first=Arun|date=2018-08-31|title=Meet Ravish Malhotra, Who Almost Became the 1st Indian in Space|url=https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/rakesh-sharmas-back-up-for-indian-space-mission-was-ravish-malhotra|access-date=2021-12-30|website=TheQuint|language=en|archive-date=30 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230071119/https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/rakesh-sharmas-back-up-for-indian-space-mission-was-ravish-malhotra|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
' | === Indo-Soviet space program === | ||
After the war, Malhotra was selected for the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School]] at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in California and later to the Indo-Soviet space program, a joint program between India and the former USSR. During this time, he took tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, in Bangalore and later in Moscow. The final tests resulted in Malhotra, [[Rakesh Sharma]], and two other cadets being selected to train for spaceflight in the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[Intercosmos]] program in 1982.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
' | [[File:Soyuz T-11 primary and backup crew.jpg|thumb|[[Soyuz T-11]] crew (1984). Malhotra is in the middle of the top row.|left]] | ||
Malhotra trained at the [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]] in [[Star City, Russia|Star City]] for over two years.<ref name=":0" /> The training and instruction was in Russian since much of the instrumentation and other equipment markings were in Russian. In addition to physical conditioning in preparation for space flight, the cadets also worked on the simulators, as well as flying on the [[Ilyushin Il-76]] aircraft, which simulated near-zero gravity and microgravity conditions for ~50 seconds at a time. Training also included sea recovery and survival, since [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz]] spacecraft capsules landed in the sea. At the end of the training program, Malhotra and Sharma were shortlisted for the [[Soyuz T-11]] mission to launch the first Indian into space in 1984. The two trained on multiple mission objectives, including studying the effects of [[yoga]] in space as well as other [[biomedicine]] and [[remote sensing]] experiments.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Krishnaswamy |first=Murali N. |date=2014-06-09 |title=Reminiscences of a space odyssey |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/reminiscences-of-a-space-odyssey/article6097054.ece |access-date=2022-08-27 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827233427/https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/reminiscences-of-a-space-odyssey/article6097054.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/932169214 |title=Interkosmos : the Eastern Bloc's early space program |date=19 November 2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-24163-0 |oclc=932169214 |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222051/http://worldcat.org/title/932169214 |url-status=live }}</ref> The decision to have Sharma go to space and Malhotra remain on the ground was taken by the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]] in India halfway through the training program.<ref name=":4" /> Speaking later about the decision, Malhotra said, "I was disappointed, but you accept it, and move on with the mission". He remained on good terms with Sharma after the mission.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
After returning from the Soviet Union, Malhotra was awarded the Soviet [[Order of Friendship of Peoples]] in 1984 and [[Kirti Chakra]] in 1985.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> | |||
=== Later career === | |||
Upon his return to India, he was posted as the [[commanding officer]] of the [[Hindan Air Force Station]] near the Indian capital of Delhi. He took an early retirement from the Air Force in 1995.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
Malhotra entered the private sector, setting up an aerospace manufacturing firm, [[Dynamatic Technologies|Dynamatic Aerospace]]. The [[National Stock Exchange of India|NSE]]-listed company manufactures precision parts, with clients including [[Boeing]], [[Airbus]], and [[Bell Helicopter|Bell helicopters]]. He retired from the company at the age of 75.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== Personal life == | |||
Malhotra is married to Mira Malhotra, a psychologist.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG__CgAAQBAJ&dq=Ravish+Malhotra+mira&pg=PA317 |title=Interkosmos: The Eastern Bloc's Early Space Program |last2=Vis |first2=Bert |date=2015-11-19 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-24163-0 |language=en |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222051/https://books.google.com/books?id=MG__CgAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA317&dq=Ravish+Malhotra+mira&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rau |first1=V. N. Sadasiva |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qF6V0C7pBaYC&dq=Ravish+Malhotra+mira&pg=PA15 |title=Essays For College Level & Competitive Exam |last2=Sreedharan |first2=S. |publisher=Sura Books |isbn=978-81-7254-090-6 |language=en |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222051/https://books.google.com/books?id=qF6V0C7pBaYC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA15&dq=Ravish+Malhotra+mira&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The couple have two children.<ref name=":1" /> As of 2021 he continues to live in [[Bangalore]] in Southern India.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{Indian space programme}} | == External links == | ||
{{commons category}} | |||
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/7673 Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra: Service Record] at [[Bharat Rakshak]] | |||
* [[Soyuz T-10]] [http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-t11.htm Mission Report] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20010220165530/http://www.spacefacts.de/ Spacefacts.de] | |||
{{Indian space programme|state=collapsed}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malhotra, Ravish}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Malhotra, Ravish}} | ||
[[Category:1943 births]] | [[Category:1943 births]] | ||
[[Category:Living people]] | [[Category:Living people]] | ||
[[Category:Indian Air Force air commodores]] | |||
[[Category:Indian military aviators]] | |||
[[Category:Indian astronauts]] | |||
[[Category:Indian test pilots]] | |||
[[Category:Military personnel from Lahore]] | [[Category:Military personnel from Lahore]] | ||
[[Category:Military personnel from Punjab, India]] | [[Category:Military personnel from Punjab, India]] | ||
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples]] | [[Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples]] | ||
[[Category:Recipients of the Kirti Chakra]] | [[Category:Recipients of the Kirti Chakra]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Punjabi Hindus]] | ||
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]] | |||
Latest revision as of 14:02, 19 February 2026
Ravish Malhotra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 25 December 1943 |
| Status | Retired |
| Alma mater | National Defence Academy |
| Occupation | Test Pilot |
| Awards |  Kirti Chakra  Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples |
| Space career | |
| Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut | |
| Selection | 1982 |
| Missions | Soyuz T-11 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service/ |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1963 to 1994 |
| Rank |  Air Commodore |
| Service number | 7673 F(P) |
| Spouse(s) | Mira Malhotra |
| Children | 2 |
Ravish Malhotra (born 25 December 1943 in Lahore, British India) is a retired air commodore of the Indian Air Force. He was an Air Force test pilot stationed at the test centre in Bangalore. He was also the Air Officer Commanding of Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi.
In 1982, he was chosen to train for spaceflight in the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program. Malhotra served as backup for Rakesh Sharma on the Soyuz T-11 mission to Salyut 7 space station which launched the first Indian into space, but never went to space himself. Malhotra was awarded the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples[1] in 1984 and the Kirti Chakra in 1985.[2]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Malhotra was born on 25 December 1943 in Lahore, in the Punjab Province of British India into a Punjabi Hindu family with three other siblings.[3] His mother was Raj Malhotra and his father was SC Malhotra.[2] His family moved from Lahore to Delhi after India's independence from Britain and the subsequent partition in 1947.[3] The family settled in Calcutta. Malhotra studied at St Thomas School in Calcutta.[4]
Career[edit | edit source]
Early career[edit | edit source]
After graduation, he was admitted to the National Defence Academy (NDA). Speaking of his career choices, he would later say that he had wanted to join the Indian Navy but was instead drafted into the Indian Air Force (IAF). During the selections, he was told that his eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, while the Air Force had a shortage of cadets at the time.[3][5]
After graduating from the NDA, Malhotra was commissioned as an officer in 1963 and assigned to the Vampire Squadron of the Indian Air Force, flying the De Havilland Vampire. During this period, he was posted to the IAF base in Barrackpore near Calcutta. He progressively graduated to flying other aircraft including the Dassault Mystère, HAL HF-24 Marut, and the Soviet Sukhoi Su-22.[3]
Malhotra was part of the IAF fighter squadron that was tasked with air raids over Pakistan in 1971, after that country had launched strikes on India prior to the Bangladesh Liberation War. He flew the Sukhoi Su-22 in over 17 sorties into Pakistani air space.[3] In one attack in the Chamb-Jaurian sector in what was then Western Pakistan, his plane was at the receiving end of heavy anti-aircraft gunfire, but he nevertheless returned to his air base in India.[5][6] The war ended with the successful liberation of Bangladesh.[3][5]
Indo-Soviet space program[edit | edit source]
After the war, Malhotra was selected for the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and later to the Indo-Soviet space program, a joint program between India and the former USSR. During this time, he took tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, in Bangalore and later in Moscow. The final tests resulted in Malhotra, Rakesh Sharma, and two other cadets being selected to train for spaceflight in the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program in 1982.[3]
Malhotra trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City for over two years.[3] The training and instruction was in Russian since much of the instrumentation and other equipment markings were in Russian. In addition to physical conditioning in preparation for space flight, the cadets also worked on the simulators, as well as flying on the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, which simulated near-zero gravity and microgravity conditions for ~50 seconds at a time. Training also included sea recovery and survival, since Soyuz spacecraft capsules landed in the sea. At the end of the training program, Malhotra and Sharma were shortlisted for the Soyuz T-11 mission to launch the first Indian into space in 1984. The two trained on multiple mission objectives, including studying the effects of yoga in space as well as other biomedicine and remote sensing experiments.[5][7][6] The decision to have Sharma go to space and Malhotra remain on the ground was taken by the Ministry of Defence in India halfway through the training program.[5] Speaking later about the decision, Malhotra said, "I was disappointed, but you accept it, and move on with the mission". He remained on good terms with Sharma after the mission.[3]
After returning from the Soviet Union, Malhotra was awarded the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples in 1984 and Kirti Chakra in 1985.[1][2]
Later career[edit | edit source]
Upon his return to India, he was posted as the commanding officer of the Hindan Air Force Station near the Indian capital of Delhi. He took an early retirement from the Air Force in 1995.[3]
Malhotra entered the private sector, setting up an aerospace manufacturing firm, Dynamatic Aerospace. The NSE-listed company manufactures precision parts, with clients including Boeing, Airbus, and Bell helicopters. He retired from the company at the age of 75.[3]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Malhotra is married to Mira Malhotra, a psychologist.[8][9] The couple have two children.[8] As of 2021 he continues to live in Bangalore in Southern India.[3]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Soviets, Indian end nine-day space trip". news.google.com. Eugene Register-Guard. 12 April 1984. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Gallantry Awards | Ministry of Defence, Government of India". gallantryawards.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Abraham, Rohan. "'Rakesh Sharma or Ravish Malhotra? Only one of us would go up into space'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ↑ Abraham, Rohan (23 July 2019). "'Rakesh Sharma or Ravish Malhotra? Only one of us would go up into space'". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Dev, Arun (31 August 2018). "Meet Ravish Malhotra, Who Almost Became the 1st Indian in Space". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Burgess, Colin (19 November 2015). Interkosmos : the Eastern Bloc's early space program. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-24163-0. OCLC 932169214. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ↑ Krishnaswamy, Murali N. (9 June 2014). "Reminiscences of a space odyssey". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Burgess, Colin; Vis, Bert (19 November 2015). Interkosmos: The Eastern Bloc's Early Space Program. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-24163-0. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ↑ Rau, V. N. Sadasiva; Sreedharan, S. Essays For College Level & Competitive Exam. Sura Books. ISBN 978-81-7254-090-6. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra: Service Record at Bharat Rakshak
- Soyuz T-10 Mission Report at Spacefacts.de
