Google Doodle honours space scientist U R Rao on his birth anniversary

Internet giant Google honoured former Isro chief Prof U R Rao with a doodle on his 89th birthday on Wednesday.

Acclaimed as the 'Satellite Man', Prof Udupi Ramachandra Rao was born in 1932 at Adamaru, Udupi district.

Serving as the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation from 1984 to 1994, Prof Rao took the space agency to great heights.

He played an important role in launching the country's first satellite 'Aryabhata' in 1975. He accelerated the development of rocket technology, resulting in the successful launch of the ASLV rocket and the operational PSLV launch vehicle.
He also paved the way for the setting up of the Geostationary Space Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the development of cryogenic technology subsequently.

Having presented more than 350 scientific and technological articles, Prof Rao was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 2017.

A pioneer of several space programmes in India, he breathed his last in 2017 in Bengaluru.