New Delhi: Over 100 events would be organized in 100 selected cities across the country, as the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) begins preparations to celebrate the birth centenary of India’s space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai.

The premier space agency announced that the year-long celebrations would begin on 12 August, with a curtain raiser event in Ahmedabad, where Sarabhai was born on the same day in 1919. He also led the establishment of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in the city in 1947.

The celebrations would conclude exactly a year later in Thiruvanathapuram, where he had set up the first rocket launching station of India.

A commemorative coin would also be unveiled on the occasion.

Sarabhai, the father of Indian space programme, was instrumental in the setting up of the Indian Space Research Organization on 15 August 1969 under the Department of Atomic Energy. This came nearly 12 years after Soviet Union revolutionized the space technologies and created history with the successful launch of Sputnik-1— the world’s first artificial satellite in October, 1957.

Soon after it was set up, ISRO began with air-borne remote sensing experiments and then went on to fulfill Sarabhai’s dream — the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975, four years after his death. SITE demonstrated the power of satellite technology for mass media and introduced the country especially its rural areas to satellite-based television programmes.

Over the years, the agency has launched several landmark missions, with the latest and the most ambitious mission till date — the second mission to the moon Chandrayaan-2.

ISRO plans to capture the entire journey of the eminent scientist in several exhibitions that it plans to conduct over the next year. The inaugural event in Ahmedabad would also witness participation from school students and noted scientists from Isro, the Department of Space and the Department of Atomic Energy during the events. A special exhibition — ‘Space on Wheels’ — would also be organized during the occasion.

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