‘If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary’

On the 17th of July, 2020, the students of MAHSS were provided with the once-in a lifetime opportunity to interact with Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma due to the relentless efforts of our Director Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudesai. A humble, dedicated and highly intellectual personality, Wing Cdr. Rakesh Sharma was delighted to interact with the bright young minds of MAHSS and answered all the questions enthusiastically, exposing the students to the wide concept of aeronautics and cosmonautics.

Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma was a former Indian Air force pilot. He flew aboard the Soyuz T-11 on 3rd April, 1984 with the Interkosmos programme and became the only Indian citizen to travel in space. He conducted numerous experiments on the Soviet Salyut 7 capsule launched by the Rocket Soyuz T-11 and was awarded with India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashoka Chakra. When former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him how India looked from outer space, his famous answer ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’ still remains embedded in the hearts of millions of Indians.

Born in Patiala, Punjab, Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma did his schooling in Hyderabad. He was a test pilot at HAL, Nashik from 1987-1992 and a former Chief Test Pilot at HAL, Bangalore. He ended his highly successful career in 2001 and till date remains the only Indian to be conferred the honour of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He started the session by enriching us with the valuable advice that it is important to attain a lot of knowledge but it is more vital to comprehend every concept and relate it to the tangible aspects of life. This makes the individual better equipped to take on the various challenges of life. VPD sir then asked him a question about the incident when a Russian Minister had fainted while looking at the rigorous training that the cosmonauts received before taking off. Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma stated that due to the lack of gravity in space, it is impossible for one to maintain a vertical position. He informed us about the semi-circular canals in our head which are necessary to maintain proper balance of the body. Due to the constant movement of the head from side to side, the fluid in the semi-circular canals also keeps moving, causing the sensation of ‘space sickness’ which is very similar to travel sickness. The training to avoid this space sickness comprised of the cosmonaut being tied to a chair which was continuously rotating on its axis while he moved his head in every possible direction. The next part of this training involved the mounting of this chair on a huge swing. This was necessary to make the astronaut ‘immune’ to space sickness.

He then explained the concept of ‘positive G values’ due to which the weight of a person increases enormously. This causes the blood to flow downwards from the head and results in a ‘grey out’. If the maneuver is continued for a long time a ‘black out’ takes place causing the person to lose consciousness. Due to greater acceleration due to gravity, the cosmonaut is forced to lie on his back and the space in the chest cavity reduces because of the immense pressure making it difficult for the lungs to expand. Hence, thorough training is provided to enable one to adapt to the higher values of ‘G’. He then described his 7 days long experience in space which was packed with several interviews and scientific experiments.

Experiments were conducted on the availability of water or minerals in space; biomedical experiments on the reactions within the human body in space followed by experiments on material science like the melting of silver and germanium in a furnace to obtain a ‘perfect’ crystal which wasn’t possible on Earth. He also did Yoga for a comparative study to determine whether yoga helped in combating space sickness or not.

He then listed the various aircrafts he had flown as a test pilot at HAL which included the MIG 27, MIG 21, Jaguar, the Mirage 2000, Marud aircraft (HS 24), the Light Combat aircraft (LCA) and even many helicopters. He affirmed that the LCA had an exceptional control system and described the tests conducted on the LCA in the USA with the help of the F-16 aircraft.He also commended Dr. Kota Harinarayana, the Project Director of the LCA and Dr Prahlad, who was VPD sir’s Director at NAL for making this complex project a huge success

He then told us about the time when he had to eject from the MIG 21 plane as the engine had packed up before landing. He was able to eject safely but the strong winds that day took him under a high tension cable. He finally landed on an uneven ground, thus breaking his ankle in 4 places. But this did not discourage him and he became airborne again in 2.5 months.

Then Professor RK Pant joined the interesting discussion and remembered his amazing discussions with Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma while he was in the cockpit. Prof. Pant asked him about what kept him motivated to continue his job even though he was aware that he was putting his life under a lot of risk .To this Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma replied that it was passion that kept him going. He believes that to do justice to your profession it is significant to put aside all your fears. When asked about how he handled the sudden fame he faced and how he felt after that period was over, he simply answered that ‘If you haven’t become used to something, you don’t miss it when it stops.’

Then the students asked him various questions commencing with the relevant question regarding people buying land on moon. He said that this was unfortunate since he believes that people will ruin the outer space just like they have done with the earth. When asked about the criticism of the Interkosmos progamme, he said that even though the programme intended to show India’s support to the USSR during the Cold War, it contributed enormously to improving India’s economy.

The next question was about how the failure of the Soyuz T 10 affected him. He thereby emphasized the significance of handling everything optimistically as each and every crew member was able to escape safely due to the efficient escape system. He went on to describe his feelings when he reached outer space and very modestly added that he felt privileged to be there and was blown away by the splendor of space. It was a life changing experience for him.

He concluded the session by informing us that it took him about 2 days to fully adapt to the conditions in space. Due to the lack of gravity, one’s blood pressure becomes very low in space and hence when he returned to earth, it took him another 2 days to return to the ‘old normal’.

Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma is truly an inspiration for millions of budding cosmonauts all over India and to have the opportunity to interact with him was one of the best experiences of our lifetime. On behalf of the students of MAHSS, I would like to thank Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma for taking time out of his busy schedule to interact with us. I would also like to thank VPD sir for giving us the opportunity to ‘meet’ Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma and many other eminent personalities through these online sessions and proving to us that nothing is impossible and ‘sky is indeed the limit’

Written by Sanskrati Saxena

11th regular