Bengaluru, Apr 27: Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman and Padma Shri awardee K. Kasturirangan (84) will be laid to rest in Bengaluru on Sunday with full state honours.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D. K. Shivakumar will pay their final respects to Kasturirangan.

The public will pay their last respects to Kasturirangan at the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Kasturirangan passed away on Friday. He breathed his last at his residence in Bengaluru.

V. Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO and Secretary of the Department of Space (DOS), paid homage to Kasturirangan.

He said, "We are in deep sorrow. Our beloved leader, one of the greatest sons of the soil who laid the foundation for India's space programme in multiple areas, K. Kasturirangan sir, is no more. My association with him goes back a long way. My first experience was in 1988 when I joined IIT Kharagpur for a programme."

"Within a month, IRS-1A had completed its first 100 days in orbit. There was a Doordarshan programme called 'Eye on the Sky', featuring a 40-minute interview with Kasturirangan Sir. I was at IIT Kharagpur at the time. Listening to him speak about taking ISRO to greater heights was inspiring. Although I was far from ISRO physically, I felt connected, as if I had contributed," he recalled.

He continued, "We were in Moscow for the technological acquisition of the cryogenic programme, along with then Chairman U.R. Rao. Kasturirangan Sir was part of the delegation. I was blessed to be attached to him for three days as we travelled together. I was only an SD engineer then, but the way he conducted reviews and asked questions left a deep impression. By the end of that review, it was clear to me that he would one day become Chairman of ISRO."

"Today, we have a world-class satellite centre thanks to Kasturirangan's phenomenal contributions. During his 10-year tenure at the helm, whatever he touched turned to gold - success after success," Narayanan said.

"Before he took over, PSLV D1 had failed. After he became Chairman, PSLV and GSLV configurations achieved great milestones. Under his leadership, the indigenous cryogenic project was approved in 1995," he noted. (PSLV-D1 was the inaugural flight of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.)

Narayanan added, "Kasturirangan sir went purely by merit. Everyone knows the kind of growth ISRO achieved under his leadership. When he visited the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) after taking charge, there was no established mathematical modelling or simulation for the liquid propulsion systems. He asked, 'Where is the modelling and summarisation?' That was the moment those activities truly began."

"There was a failure in the one-tonne engine project, and I was sent to Russia to discuss it. The Russians would not engage in discussion easily. I had to stretch the truth with my superior because I was told that if a second failure happened, I would be sacked. A Russian mentor visited us at 3 am, bypassing security, and stayed until 8 am to help. I later returned to Bengaluru and briefed Kasturirangan, sir. A planned 10-minute briefing turned into a 3-hour discussion," Narayanan said.

"His contributions went far beyond ISRO. His role in framing India’s New Education Policy, among many other national initiatives, was phenomenal," he emphasised.

"I can't share everything publicly. To be frank, I was like a family member to him. He had a pooja room with images of all gods and goddesses, and he would ask me to visit the pooja room before meeting him," Narayanan fondly remembered.

Recalling more recent memories, he said, "After I took over as Chairman of ISRO, I visited him with my family to seek his blessings. At one point, I heard he was critically ill in the ICU. After three weeks, he insisted on returning home. When I visited him, he surprised us - wearing trousers like a small boy, he came to greet us, hugged us, and spoke warmly. It was hard to believe that someone so ill could regain that spirit. That is my last memory of him."

"Kasturirangan's contributions to PSLV, GSLV, satellite configurations - they cannot simply be captured in a few pages. They are massive and phenomenal. He was a man of great principles and affection. It is a tremendous loss to ISRO's 20,000 employees and the entire nation," Narayanan said.

"Regarding Chandrayaan-2, after its setback, we submitted a report to the national-level committee. I was chairing that committee and was asked to brief Kasturirangan sir for 15 minutes. Instead, the discussion lasted nearly four hours. He listened patiently and asked just one question: 'How long have you been working in the satellite area? You are a launch vehicle expert.' He then assured me that Chandrayaan-3 would be a success - and it was," Narayanan concluded.

(IANS)

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