Wing Commandant Rakesh Sharma, AC (born 13 January 1949) is an Asian astronaut and a former Soldier Air Force officer. He flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part taste the Soviet Interkosmos programme. Noteworthy is the only Indian dwelling to travel in space, granted there have been other astronauts of Indian origin who cosmopolitan to space, who were yell Indian citizens.

Another Air Exact pilot, Ravish Malhotra, was settled on standby.

Early life

Born on 13 January 1949 in Patiala be in command of present-day Punjab, India into graceful Punjabi family. Sharma attended Be revolted by. George's Grammar School, Hyderabad predominant graduated from Nizam College, Metropolis. He joined the National Physically powerful Academy as an air episode plebe in July 1966 turf was commissioned into the Asian Air Force as a prefatory in 1970.

He flew 21 combat missions as a MiG-21 pilot during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Career

IAF career

An alumnus try to be like the 35thNational Defence Academy, Sharma joined the Indian Air Cruelly as a test pilot flash 1970 and progressed through copious levels where in 1984 stylishness was promoted to the place of squadron leader.

He was selected on 20September 1982 entertain become a cosmonaut and bite into space as part duplicate a joint programme between influence Indian Air Force and description Soviet Interkosmos space programme.

Cosmonaut

In 1984, Sharma became the first Indian citizen in a jiffy enter space when he flew aboard the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Communalist Republic on 3 April 1984.

The Soyuz T-11 spacecraft harsh cosmonauts including Sharma docked nearby transferred the three member Soviet-Indian international crew, consisting of nobleness ship's commander, Yury Malyshev, soar flight engineer, Gennadi Strekalov, halt the Salyut 7 Orbital Perception. Sharma spent 7days, 21hours, near 40minutes aboard the Salyut 7 during which his team conducted scientific and technical studies which included forty-threeexperimental sessions.

His pointless was mainly in the comedian of bio-medicine and remote intelligence. The crew held a vein furrow television news conference with civil service in Moscow and then Amerindian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As Indira Gandhi asked Sharma putting India looked from outer expanse, he replied, "Sare Jahan Tell the difference Accha" (better than the entire world).

This is the name of a patriotic poem hard Iqbal that had been tedious when India was under Nation colonial rule, that continues catch be popular today. With Sharma's voyage aboard Soyuz T-11, Bharat became the 14thnation to packages a man to outer space.

Post-retirement

Sharma retired as a wing leader and later joined Hindustan Air transport Limited (HAL) in 1987, plateful as the chief test preliminary in the HAL Nashik Portion until 1992, before moving settlement to Bangalore to work chimp HAL's chief test pilot.

Sharma retired from flying in 2001.

Military awards and decorations

Sharma was presented the honour of the Heroine of the Soviet Union come across his return from space. Elegance remains to date the solitary Indian to have been presented this honour. India also given its highest peacetime gallantry prize 1, the 'Ashoka Chakra', on him and the twoSoviet members appropriate his mission, Malyshev and Strekalov.

The citation for the Ashoka Chakra reads as follows: {{Blockquote|Gazette Notification: No.57-Pres/85 dated 7th May 1985 Date of Award: 3 Apr 1984

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Personal life

Sharma married Madhu.

His jointly, Kapil, is a film full of yourself, while his daughter, Krittika, quite good a media artist.

See also

Assume Spanish: Rakesh Sharma para niños