Google Doodle honours ‘Satellite Man’ Udupi Ramachandra Rao on his birthday

Team Udayavani, Mar 10, 2021, 8:39 AM IST

Bengaluru: Google celebrated the 89th birthday of India’s famous professor and scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao, fondly called as ‘Satellite Man,’ with a Google Doodle.

Ramachandra Rao was born on March 10, 1932, in Marpalli near Udupi in a farming family.

Also called as Dr UR Rao, Udupi Ramachandra Rao served as head of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). He is also an inductee of the International Astronautics Federation.

Ramachandra Rao studied at places like Udupi, Anantapur, Madras and Benaras. Under the guidance of Vikram Sarabhai, known as the father of India’s space program, he studied radiation and obtained his doctorate from the University of Gujarat.

He worked in America as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Texas and later returned to India in 1966.

Dr Rao was a professor at the Ahmedabad Physical Research Laboratory and later served in ISRO. He is credited with sending many satellites into space.

His honours include India’s second-highest award, the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and an award from NASA. He was also honoured with an induction into the prestigious Satellite Hall of Fame in Washington.

Dr Rao died on July 24, 2017, in Bengaluru.