Udupi Ramachandra Rao, the man who made India's satellite dreams take off

Despite his busy schedule as working engineer and administrator, he never lost touch with academia

Udupi Ramachandra Rao, who died in Bengaluru on Monday, was one of the pioneers of India's space programme. He was a member of the team that designed and launched India's first satellite, the Aryabhata, in 1975. Rao was the first director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)'s Satellite Centre. Later, as the chairman of Isro during 1984-94, he was primarily responsible for the development of the the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and also initiated the research that eventually resulted in the more ambitious Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).  
 

Born on March 10, 1932, Rao received his MSc