Rakesh Sharma: The First Indian in Space

Rakesh Sharma was an Indian Air Force pilot. In 1984 he became the first Indian citizen to travel into space.

Where did he come from?

• He was born on 13 January 1949 in Patiala, Punjab.
• He joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1970, after the National Defence Academy.
• He flew 21 missions in a MiG-21 fighter in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

What is the memory hook?

Think “born 1949, pilot 1970, war 1971”. Each date opens a new stage of his career.

India and the Soviet Union agreed on a joint flight. Sharma was picked for it on 20 September 1982.

What was the programme?

• The programme was Intercosmos, the Soviet Union’s scheme for flights with foreign crew.
• ISRO worked with the Soviet side on the joint mission.

Who was his backup?

• Ravish Malhotra was Sharma’s backup.
• Both men trained to fly aboard a Soviet space station.
• Malhotra was never called up, because Sharma flew.

What is the memory hook?

Think “1982 picked, 1984 flew”. The backup waited and never flew.

Sharma launched on 3 April 1984 aboard Soyuz T-11. He spent a week on the Soviet station Salyut 7.

How did the flight go?

• Soyuz T-11 lifted off from Baikonur on 3 April 1984 at 13:08 UTC.
• The crew was Yuri Malyshev (commander), Gennadi Strekalov (flight engineer) and Sharma (research cosmonaut).
• The craft docked with Salyut 7 on 4 April 1984.
• The crew landed on 11 April 1984, 46 km east of Arkalyk.
• The flight lasted 7 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes.

What did Sharma do on board?

• He ran 43 experiment sessions.
• He photographed India from orbit as part of Earth observation work.
• He tried a yoga experiment in orbit.

What is the memory hook?

Think “launch 3, dock 4, land 11”. Salyut 7 was a station, not the ISS.

During the flight, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Sharma how India looked from space. He replied with a line from a song by the poet Iqbal.

What was the exchange?

• Indira Gandhi asked how India looked from space.
• Sharma answered “Saare Jahan Se Achha”.
• The line comes from a patriotic song by the poet Allama Iqbal.
• It means “better than the whole world”.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Gandhi asks, Iqbal’s words answer”. The line is a poet’s, not Sharma’s own.

The Soviet Union and India both honoured him. India also honoured his two Soviet crewmates.

Which honours are linked to the flight?

• The Soviet Union made him a Hero of the Soviet Union.
• India gave him the Ashoka Chakra, its highest peacetime gallantry award.
• His two Soviet crewmates also received the Ashoka Chakra.
• Their award was the only time the Ashoka Chakra went to foreigners, says Bharat Rakshak.
• India became the 14th nation to send a person into space.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Hero of the Soviet Union, Ashoka Chakra at home”. One flight earned two honours.

No Indian flew again for 41 years. Shubhanshu Shukla broke the gap in June 2025.

What was Axiom-4?

• Axiom-4 (Ax-4) lifted off from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on 25 June 2025 at 12:01 IST.
• ISRO says Shukla was the mission pilot and prime crew member.
• The Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station on 26 June 2025.
• The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off California on 15 July 2025.
• Reports call Shukla the second Indian to travel to space.

What is India’s own plan?

• Gaganyaan is ISRO’s own human spaceflight programme.
• It aims to send 3 crew to a 400 km orbit for 3 days.
• The crew would return by landing in Indian waters.

What is the memory hook?

Think “1984 Soviet, 2025 American”. Sharma flew on a Soviet craft. Shukla flew on a SpaceX craft.

Four mix-ups appear often. Learn each pair.

What are the traps?

• Salyut 7 or ISS? Sharma flew to Salyut 7 in 1984. Shukla flew to the ISS in 2025.
• Pilot or backup? Sharma flew. Ravish Malhotra was the backup.
• Soyuz or Dragon? Sharma went on Soyuz T-11. Shukla went on a Dragon capsule.
• Order of flights: Sharma flew first in 1984. Kalpana Chawla flew in 1997, Sunita Williams in 2006 and Sirisha Bandla in 2021.

How has this been asked before?

The trap is the order of the later three. Only Sharma is certain: he was first.

How do you remember the order?

Think “84, 97, 06, 21”. Sharma, Chawla, Williams, Bandla.