• Former ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan passed away in Bengaluru on April 25. He was 84.

• From a renowned space scientist to an educationist, Kasturirangan put his stamp on key milestones in India’s space missions and education reforms, earning him the title of “encyclopedia” in both arenas.

• He was a recipient of three major civilian awards — Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).

ISRO stalwart to educationist

• Kasturirangan was born on October 24, 1940 in Ernakulam in Kerala.

• Hailing from Tamil Nadu, his family had settled at Chalakudy in Thrissur district. 

• Kasturirangan got his bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics from the Bombay University and PhD in experimental high-energy astronomy while working at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, in 1971.

• He was associated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for nearly 35 years — and headed it from 1994 to 2003.

• He steered the Indian space programme gloriously for more than nine years as the chief of the ISRO, head of the Space Commission and Secretary to the government of India in the Department of Space, before laying down his office on August 27, 2003.

• He was the project director for India’s first two experimental earth observation satellites — BHASKARA-I and II — and subsequently, was also responsible for the overall direction of the first operational Indian remote-sensing satellite, IRS-1A.

• He is credited with the successful launch and operationalisation of India’s prestigious launch vehicle, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and the first successful flight testing of the all-important Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

• Kasturirangan has made extensive and significant contributions to the studies of cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray sources and the effect of cosmic X-rays in the lower atmosphere.

• He served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2003 to 2009 and concurrently, as the director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies.

• Under the former United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, he was a member of the Planning Commission from 2009 to 2014. He also headed the Karnataka Knowledge Commission in 2008.

• The current National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government gave Kasturirangan the reins of a nine-member committee tasked with drafting the ambitious National Education Policy (NEP) in 2017. 

• Kasturirangan was later also given the charge of the committee that drafted the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), based on the NEP.

• He was also a member of the boards of governors of various institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Roorkee and Madras and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

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