The Leapfroggers: An Insider's Account of ISRO

By V.P. Sandlas

'We are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, and the courage to leapfrog to state-of-the-art engineering and technology pursuits rather than step-by-step scientific developments.' These famous words of Dr Vikram Sarabhai propel every initiative of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Leapfroggers, too, is an outcome of the same spirit. Featured in the book is Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the first Project Director of SLV-3, India's most prestigious space project in the 1970s. Ved Prakash Sandlas was part of Kalam's core team and eventually took over from him after the first successful launch in 1980. Sandlas was one of the first engineers to join ISRO in its formative years in the 1960s. In this book, he reflects on the ISRO culture: the styles, values and characteristics of its people; their aspirations and ambitions; and their beliefs, prejudices, superstitions and limitations. Woven with interesting anecdotes and scientific detail, The Leapfroggers is the human story of ISRO's and India's technological advancement.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Aug 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9789352779420

V.P. Sandlas

Ved Prakash Sandlas was one of the first fifty engineers who joined ISRO during the formative years of 1962-67 and rose to head SLV-3 as Project Director during 1980-84. Subsequently, he shifted to DRDO and worked as Director, Defence Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL), from 1986 to 1996 and later served as Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller R & D from 1996 to 2005, in the area of using space technology for defence applications. He also set up the Amity Institute of Space Science and Technology, as Director General, along with Amity Institute of Aerospace Engineering (2008-13). He has been awarded DRDO's Scientist of the Year award (1988), FIE Foundation National Award (1998) for Science & Technology, and IIT Kharagpur Distinguished Alumnus Award (2012).

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PREFACE

The seeds for writing this book were sown on 23 January 1984, on the advice of Prof. Satish Dhawan, then Chairman, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). I was visiting ISRO HQ, having submitted the ‘Conclusion Report’ of the SLV-3 Project, titled ‘SLV-3 Objectives and Accomplishments’—after the successful launch of SLV-3-D2 (the second developmental flight of India’s first satellite launch vehicle, SLV-3) on 17 April 1983—and planning to discuss my future at ISRO. Prof. Dhawan, in his characteristic way, came straight to the point: ‘So, enough of rest and celebrations, Ved, what next? And what brings you to Bangalore today? What is your main mission today?’

First, I explained my efforts to seek urgent intervention by T.N. Seshan, IFA (Internal Financial Advisor) of the Department of Space (DoS), and to consider special release of House Building Advance (HBA) for me and seven other engineers (all Delhi boys) of VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum)—all of who had been allotted flats under the Self Financing Scheme of DDA (Delhi Development Authority) vide their letter dated 15 January 1984 under the condition that the first instalment would be paid by 14 February 1984. Being a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I pleaded for kind consideration and readjustment of HBA provisions, to help us. Prof. Dhawan picked up the phone and dialled Seshan.

‘Ved had to see you for some HBA. I am holding him with me for some other detailed discussions. He will see you in an hour or so.’ He looked me straight in the eye and winked.

‘Your HBA is done. What next?’

Then I elaborated on my experience of the last seventeen years, throwing up some alternative options such as joining PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Project) under Dr S. Srinivasan, initiating preliminary work for GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) with the hope to become its Project Director, or even doing some R & D as Head of the Electronics Division at VSSC. He agreed with the PSLV and Electronics Division options for the time being, provided I stayed back in Trivandrum, emphasizing that it would have to be sorted out by Dr V.R. Gowarikar (Director, VSSC).

He said, ‘GSLV could be at least two–three years away … better wait for ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle) to mature. How about INSAT (Indian National Satellite System)? You were once part of the INSAT studies, etc. Why don’t you visit MSF (Master Control Facility) at Hasan tomorrow morning—I will ask Kale to take you there—come back and meet me again, day after tomorrow?’

In the afternoon, I collected the HBA allocation letter from Seshan and informed VSSC to proceed with further formalities. The sanction letter was issued on 27 January, and the cheque was sent to DDA on 4 February—where there is a will, there is a way, and ISRO was the best place to demonstrate that. When I met with Prof. Dhawan on 25 January, on not finding me much interested in MCF, he said, ‘OK. Think about it. As Director, MCF, you will be part of the INSAT Coordination Committee, interacting with INSAT users in Delhi—DoT (Department of Telecommunications), Doordarshan, IMD (India Meteorological Department), etc.—opening up a whole lot of opportunities for your future. And in the meantime, start writing down your experiences with SLV-3, its challenges, management methods, failures and successes. And don’t forget to include all those stories and jokes which got created at SHAR (Sriharikota Range).’

The concept and scope of this book are based upon the famous leapfrogging philosophy propagated by Dr Vikram A. Sarabhai, the creator of the Indian space programme: ‘To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose … we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, and the courage to leapfrog to state-of-the-art engineering and technology pursuits rather than [make] step-by-step scientific developments … Indeed, this is the only way in which I can see the country leapfrogging into a position where it can hope to meet more developed nations on equal terms.’

In fact, soon after the start of ‘Space Race’ with the launches of Sputnik on 4 October 1957 and Explorer on 31 January 1958, in August 1961, the Government of India entrusted the responsibility of looking after space research and peaceful uses of outer space to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), followed by the constitution of INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee on Space Research) under the chairmanship of Prof. Vikram A. Sarabhai. Of course, unlike others, we did not start with first using space for military applications. Interestingly, the two popular Indian epics—Ramayana and Mahabharata—spectacularly demonstrate imagination and potential of rocketry and archery-aided firepower in ancient times, prompting historians and scholars to suggest that, perhaps, India had also contributed significantly to early developments in the realms of science and technology, in addition to metallurgy, mathematics, medicine and astronomy. The leapfrogging philosophy motivated ISRO to initiate the development of Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) as early as 1968, when even our tiny sounding rockets were still under nascent development. Today, with the operational PSLV and GSLV, we are self-sufficient and really ‘second to none’ in building and launching any satellites required for Indian needs; but from earlier societal and social application orientation, ‘Indian Space’ goals have grown and matured into: commercial satellites, operational launch vehicles and nuclear-enabled missiles; Chandrayaan and Mars missions; and fulfilment of the ambition of a manned mission—encompassing all possible scientific, economic and strategic objectives.

Leapfrogging is not like long-jumping, where one builds momentum by a long enough run, and then jumps to land on soft and loose sand. Leapfrogging relies upon stored energy—in the legs, muscles, brain and the entire body—to leap above unexplored territory, with calculated risk, sometimes falling flat on the face, and sometimes exposing the dirtier underside.

This is a storybook, rather than a history or chronology document. In fact, it is more appropriate to call it a saga—a chain of stories, jumping back and forth from one event to another, sometimes side-stepping, sometimes leapfrogging, and interwoven with interesting anecdotes. I have tried to reflect upon authentic ISRO culture: styles, values and characteristics of ISRO people, particularly the first and original three layers of hierarchy, consisting of those who joined during the period 1962–1967 (about fifty of them), their aspirations and ambitions, their beliefs, prejudices, superstitions and limitations, particularly of members of the Core Team of the SLV-3 Project—the most ambitious and glamorous project of VSSC and ISRO during 1972–1983.

Most ISRO people were highly individualistic, experts in their own fields, very possessive of their specializations, very argumentative in technical discussions, and sometimes very stubborn. But, somehow, they were excellent team members in group activities. There were occasions when they would fight tooth and nail, for several hours, even through the night, and, after the final decision, come out clean with identical views. With the exception of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, almost all of them came from a middle-class, even lower middle-class, background. They were exceptionally well qualified and meritorious scientists or engineers and had joined VSSC to ‘earn a living’ through regular government jobs. The best way to describe them and their culture is to reiterate some popular ISROisms—‘ISRO is ISRO’, ‘ISRO People are ISRO People’, ‘once an ISRO person, always an ISRO person’—without any further adjectives and qualitative explanations. I recall some situations of arguments with outsiders, in higher-level meetings in Delhi, when typical remarks such as ‘Oh, these ISRO people! They won’t descend to real ground’ were made.

At the organizational level, no religious beliefs or rituals were practised; not even in group-level activities. For instance, neither I nor any of my close friends ever found it essential or necessary to visit any temple, not even the most famous Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. I recall Dr V. Siddhartha’s statement, in his convocation address titled ‘Fear of the Residue’ at Bangalore University, when he highlighted the launch of ‘Aryabhata Satellite’ on 19 April 1975 and the well-earned success of the related competent team, and boldly questioned the relevance and logic of the performing of puja, concurrently with the countdown, by some of the team members left behind at the office of Indo-Soviet Satellite Project (ISSP) in Bangalore.

My reflections in this book are modulated by my upbringing, my learnings and delearnings, and feedback from my colleagues, friends and family. The chapters on my background are an attempt to define the limits and scope of my conditioned thinking, through which I have tried to interpret events and situations. I have tried to include some views and feelings which are not in tune with my own views, rather than give only my analysis and values. The overriding conditioning, though, is in keeping with my characteristic style of being low-flying and low-lying, like most other persons in ISRO. For instance, outside the ISRO family, particularly in Delhi (in government, social or political circles), most ISRO persons are almost unknown; perhaps the only exception is the current ISRO chairman himself or his predecessors, or those who reached almost similar levels. For example, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was hardly known outside, as long as he was in ISRO; he became visible only after joining DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization); of course, his visibility increased substantially following the success of Agni and thereafter. In my own case, despite my two successful SLV-3 missions, I was hardly known outside Trivandrum; but I became visible in Delhi only after joining DRDO. Even within DRDO, I preferred to remain low-lying and low-flying, not cultivating serious friendships with senior bureaucrats or politicians.

SLV-3 was a big challenge—a technical, a scientific, a managerial, an administrative and even a political one. Notwithstanding the perception of a non-industrial culture typical to Kerala, the SLV-3 development in Trivandrum was quite smooth. The core team developed its own methods and culture, and, despite emergence of many differences in technical and managerial approaches, it evolved a unique style of togetherness, which somehow infected the rest of VSSC, generating a mega team with common goals and ambitions.

Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an iconic symbol of what SLV-3 was, of its significance and culture; he was a master leapfrogger, demonstrated by his subsequent growth in DRDO, and his becoming the president of India. Once, a journalist predicted that ISRO had decided to name future Satellite Launch Vehicles with the initials of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: ASLV, PSLV and JSLV (J changing to G to match equivalency in Hindi and other Indian languages).

A book about SLV-3 cannot be complete without invoking Dr Kalam’s style and subsequent interrelationships with the Agni missile. He had initially agreed to write the foreword for this book, but it was not to be. I have recalled many names and events from my personal notes and memory; it is difficult to guarantee 100 per cent accuracy and I apologize if anyone or anything important has inadvertently been left out. I have also relied upon specific statements, data and events, similar to those already published in some ISRO and DRDO documents and Dr Kalam’s books, including my own submissions, namely: A Brief History of Rocketry in India, ‘Development of SLV-3— Retrospective—Silver Jubilee Souvenir’, 50 Years of Space: A Global Perspective, From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet, Memories: Incredible Kalam and Wings of Fire. I gratefully acknowledge inputs from such publications and thank their authors. Some of the pioneers responsible for SLV-3 evolution and development are no more; I dedicate this book to their memory.

Ved Prakash Sandlas

New Delhi

1

THUMBA: THE FISHING VILLAGE

Ijoined TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station), near Trivandrum, on Friday, 27 October 1967. Exactly a month earlier, I had been formally informed of my selection as an Engineer SC-1 (Electronics)—on a starting salary of Rs 400 per month in the pay scale of Rs 400-950 with Rs 120 as the dearness allowance (DA)—at the Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC). The offer letter clearly mentioned the last day of joining as 27 October 1967, which would not be extended. Most of the other employees at the Space Centre were part of TERLS, which was the primary centre of activity. ‘Thumba Rocket’ or just Thumba were the local nomenclatures for TERLS or SSTC, about ten kilometres north of Trivandrum.

The total strength at Thumba at that time was quite small, the serial number on my Identification Card being sixty-eight. Most of the staff members would travel by a local mofussil bus in the morning from Trivandrum, via Ulloor, Sreekariyam and Kulathoor—two trips daily to manage the two shifts: 8.00–16.00 and 09.30–17.30—and return in the evening. Subsequently, when the strength increased slightly, TERLS purchased its own bus, which could supplement the transportation needs, and also cater to the additional trips for 06.30–14.30, 14.30–22.30 and 22.30–06.30 shifts for security staff and staff working late during rocket launch campaigns. There was also one green Standard 10 van for use by the director of TERLS, for local transport, and occasional VIP duties. Most of us would use bicycles or just walk to commute in the Rocket Range of about 1 sq.km.

About four years earlier, TERLS and Thumba came into prominence with the launch of a sounding rocket, US Nike-Apache, at 1825 hours on 21 November 1963, with French payload, for study of upper atmosphere (100–120km altitude) using sodium vapour cloud. India emerged in the international space scene in February 1962 with the creation of INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), by Dr Homi J. Bhabha, then Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, under the chairmanship of Dr Vikram A. Sarabhai. Subsequently, in October 1962, TERLS came under the administrative control of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, a grant-in-aid institution under the DAE. Thumba was selected based upon its closeness to the magnetic equator, which passed near Quilon, about 50km north of Trivandrum. Nearness to the magnetic equator offers excellent opportunities for the study of Electroject, upper atmosphere, monsoon, climate, Ionosphere, etc., by using sounding rockets capable of reaching 50 to a couple of 100km altitude.

The name ‘Thumba’ is taken from a medicinal herb called Thumba, Thumbe or Thumpa (Botanical name Leucas aspera)with white flowers, which used to grow in abundance in the area, including among the saline backwaters. Thumba was originally a vast fishing village with several hundred thatched huts scattered about on a relatively flat coastal stretch a couple of kilometres long. In the centre of Thumba stands an ancient Catholic church—St. Mary Magdalene’s Church—alongside a bishop’s house; it bears the stamp of history, dating back to 1544, when the original church was built by St. Francis Xavier. After some initial resistance, the land was acquired with the help of the then bishop of Trivandrum, Rt. Rev. Dr Peter Bernard Pereira; displaced families were rehabilitated nearby along with a newly built church. The original church now houses a space museum.

The first day at Thumba was quite uneventful, except for saying hi-bye to others, especially those from my alma mater, IIT Kharagpur—S.K. Bansal and A.C. Bahl, aeronautical engineers who had joined earlier during July 1967—and some of their friends and colleagues. Rajinder Pal, mechanical engineer from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, was their very close friend; all three of them stayed together in a common rented house in Pattom junction.

On the first day itself, I was introduced to all the senior people working at the ‘Control Centre’, TERLS: H.G.S. Murthy, Director, TERLS; D. Easwara Das, Head of Rocket Integration Division; A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Head of Range Engineering Division (RED); B. Ramakrishna Rao (Buddy), Head of Electronics Division-Rockets (ELD-R); R. Aravamudan (Dan), Head of Ground Support Division and Test & Evaluation (GSD and TED); and Pramod Kale, Head of Electronics Division-Satellites (ELD-S). Incidentally, these were the first set of people to join TERLS by the end of 1962 and be sent to Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC) of USA for an initial one-year period of training. I was asked to report to Ramakrishna Rao, and was surprised to learn that, besides him, I would be the first BTech in electronics to join the division; other technical staff members were all technicians or science graduates. I learnt from Bansal and Bahl that the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, would be holidays; and they invited me to visit them during the weekend. In fact, I took the liberty of visiting them on the subsequent weekend as well, when they invited me to join them, to stay with them permanently. Theirs was a two-storey house, with two bedrooms on the first floor, and a kitchen and a drawing room (actually used for drying clothes) on the ground floor. It was decided that Bahl and I (both of us from Delhi) would use one bedroom, while Bansal and Rajinder Pal would use the other. The adjacent house was similarly built, and was occupied by another set of four Thumba officers—the eight of us shared a common kitchen and mess, though they were not our type from a social and upbringing point of view.

Immediately after joining Thumba, the next two days, the 28th and 29th of the month, Saturday and Sunday, were holidays, followed by another two holidays on 31 and 1 November, on account of Diwali, and all in all, it was a nice and pleasant experience for me, particularly when I received my first salary on 2 November for five days of work, without doing any real work! The salary slip was a computer-generated one; I was advised to immediately open a bank account, since the next salary would not be paid in cash