Google Doodle Honours ‘Satellite Man of India’ Professor UR Rao

Google Doodle Celebrates Professor Udupi Ramachandra Rao on his 89th birthday.

(Photo : Google)

Google Doodle on Wednesday, 10 March, is celebrating renowned Indian professor and scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao's 89th Birthday.

The new doodle features a sketch of the Professor Rao, also known as the “Satellite Man of India,” in space with a background of Earth and stars.

Professor Rao was born in a remote village of Karnataka on this day in 1932. He began his career as a cosmic-ray physicist under the guidance of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, a scientist widely regarded as the father of India’s space programme.

Motivated by the practical applications of aerospace technology to solve societal problems such as poverty and food shortages, Professor Rao supervised the launch of India’s first satellite, ‘Aryabhata’, in the year 1975. It helped in the transformation of rural India by advancing communication and meteorological services.

Professor Rao served as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the year 1984 to 1994. In these years, he developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which has launched over 250 satellites.

Professor Rao “became the first Indian inducted into the Satellite Hall of Fame in 2013, the same year that PSLV launched India’s first interplanetary mission – “Mangalyaan” – a satellite that orbits Mars today,” reads the description by Google.