Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah paid his last respects to Veteran Indian space scientist U.R. Rao who passed away here on Monday.
Rao was the ISRO chairman for a decade from 1984 to 1994. As ISRO Chairman, Professor Rao had accelerated the development of rocket technology which led to the launch of ASLV rocket and the operational PSLV launch vehicle, according to ISRO’s profile. He was also responsible for initiating the development of Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the development of cryogenic technology in 1991.
Prof Rao was awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’ by the Government of India in 1976, which is the third highest Civilian Award and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2017 which is the second highest Civilian Award. Prof. U.R. Rao became the first Indian Space Scientist to be inducted into the highly Prestigious “Satellite Hall of Fame” at Washington DC, USA on March 19, 2013. Prof. U.R. Rao became the first Indian Space Scientist to be inducted into the highly Prestigious “IAF Hall of Fame” at Guadalajara, Mexico.
Early life of Udupi Ramachandra Rao
Udupi Ramchandra Rao, popularly known as U R Rao was born at Adamaru near Udupi in undivided Dakshina Kannada. His parents were Lakshminarayana Acharya and Krishnaveni Amma. He had his primary education at Adamaru. He completed his secondary education from Christian High School, Udupi. He completed his B.Sc in Government Arts and Science College, Anantpur, M.Sc from Banaras Hindu University and Ph.D at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad under the guidance of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
