The amazing story of the first Indian in space | #125

Also, when Gandhi told Bose to eat better ➡️ ➡️

Oct 08, 2022

Mitron,

In the 1970s, the erstwhile Soviet Union launched a program called Interkosmos. It was a way for the Soviet Union to build allies - they would help ‘friendly’ countries with their space program and would train and then help chosen few from these countries travel to space all for free.

In 1980, after Indira Gandhi came to power, she accepted secretary Leonid Brezhnev’s offer and asked the space department to find 2 cosmonauts, one among who would be the first Indian to fly into space.

In September 1982, about 40 years ago, 4 Indians were selected and sent for training to Moscow. At the end of a strenuous medical examination at Moscow, Ravish Malhotra and Rakesh Sharma were chosen and sent for further cosmonaut training. This week’s newsletter looks at some of the lesser known stories regarding that mission.

Soviet-Indian prime and backup crew from left- Yuri Malyshev, Ravish Malhotra, Rakesh Sharma, Georgi Grechko, Anatoly Berezov and Gennady Strekalov. Source.

Things we learnt this week 🤓

One of the key experiments carried out during the Soyuz T-11 journey was to see the impact of Yoga in zero gravity. Ravish and Rakesh, apart from learning Russian and advanced space travel, had to learn Yoga during their training. Squatting like a rishi, with velcro zippers fastening him, Rakesh Sharma would do 10 minutes of Yoga everyday. The scientists wanted to understand whether yoga would help overcome the impact of weakened muscles in space. The preliminary results were very good, but were eventually considered inconclusive. Yogat to stay fit in space.

Fasten your ~~seatbelts~~ velcro zippers

An institute in Mysore ensured that Rakesh Sharma didn’t miss home food. The Defense Food research lab in Mysore, packed sooji halwa, aaloo choley and vegetable pulao for Rakesh Sharma. The other cosmonauts got their first taste of Indian food and it was out of the world for them. <See what we did there!>
Rakesh Sharma acted like a space tourist by using his time to take aerial photos whenever the spaceship passed India. Using highly sophisticated cameras, Rakesh Sharma photographed more than 60 percent of India’s area which helped scientists map and study natural resources available. It saved India at least 2 years of aerial photography. Looking at these photos now would be a nice flashback for Rakesh.

One of the most remarkable incidents during his time aboard Soyuz T11 was the fact that Rakesh Sharma spotted a large forest fire in Central Burma and alerted ground control. Mission control informed the Burmese government which ensured minimal damage.
Rakesh Sharma after returning to Earth. Ravish Malhotra in the background.
Among Rakesh Sharma’s fans was a class 3 dropout who had to give up his dreams due to financial constraints. Kishan Singh Chauhan was a paanwala living in Ahmedabad and along with the help of a retired professor wrote a letter to Sharma, congratulating him on the historic feat. Even though Sharma received many letters he made sure to reply to Chauhan’s, and their correspondence continued. In July 2010, Sharma was visiting Ahmadabad and made sure to visit Kishan’s paan stand. The union was celebrated by a hug, followed by a long chat. “I cannot believe that a man who has been to space and has been honoured by both the Russian and Indian governments, sat with me for 45 minutes. I am truly blessed,” an emotional Chauhan said. What a down-to-earth man.