20 Facts About Rakesh Sharma

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC was born on 13 January 1949 and is an Indian cosmonaut and a former Indian Air Force officer.

Rakesh Sharma flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.

Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other astronauts of Indian origin who travelled to space, who were not Indian citizens.

Rakesh Sharma joined the National Defence Academy as an air force plebe in July 1966 and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a pilot in 1970.

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

An alumnus of the 35thNational Defence Academy, Rakesh Sharma joined the Indian Air Force as a test pilot in 1970 and progressed through numerous levels where in 1984 he was promoted to the rank of squadron leader.

Rakesh Sharma was selected on 20September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and go into space as part of a joint programme between the Indian Air Force and the Soviet Interkosmos space programme.

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

The Soyuz T-11 spacecraft carrying cosmonauts including Rakesh Sharma docked and transferred the three member Soviet-Indian international crew, consisting of the ship's commander, Yury Malyshev, and flight engineer, Gennadi Strekalov, to the Salyut 7 Orbital Station.

Rakesh Sharma's work was mainly in the fields of bio-medicine and remote sensing.

Rakesh Sharma retired as a wing commander and later joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1987, serving as the chief test pilot in the HAL Nashik Division until 1992, before moving on to Bangalore to work as HAL's chief test pilot.

Rakesh Sharma was conferred the honour of the Hero of the Soviet Union upon his return from space.

Rakesh Sharma remains to date the only Indian to have been conferred this honour.

In January 1982, when it was decided that an Indian would go into space on a Soviet space ship, Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma volunteered for this very challenging mission.

Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma completed a most arduous training schedule, with distinction and with exceptional professionalism.

On 3 April 1984, Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to orbit in space.

Rakesh Sharma carried out all the scientific experiments planned for the joint Indo-Soviet Space Mission and other tasks assigned to him with great facility and excellence.

Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma has not only carved out a place for himself in the space roll of honour but has brought glory and credit to the nation.

Squadron leader Rakesh Sharma has thus displayed most conspicuous daring and courage to become the first Indian to go into space.

Rakesh Sharma's son, Kapil, is a film director, while his daughter, Krittika, is a media artist.