B. N. Suresh (editor) - Space and Beyond Professional Voyage of K. Kasturirangan

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Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is an international leader in expanding the frontiers of space. With five decades of outstanding contributions in space programmes and astronautics, he is highly regarded for his vision and disciplined program implementation.

Dr Kasturirangan provided key leadership in building Indias cost-effective, end-to-end space programme, including launch vehicles for both polar (PSLV) and geosynchronous (GSLV) orbits and satellites for communication, remote sensing, and scientific research. He prepared India for its first exploration of the moon and planets. Recognizing that the long-term success of Indias space activities is linked with international cooperation, Dr Kasturirangan established close relationships with many national space agencies and prepared our nation for joint space missions.

Regarding the Earth, Kasturirangan has demonstrated numerous ways space technology can address the needs in the developing world. India uses space-based technology for education, health, broadcasting, infrastructure development, natural resource and disaster management, and many other areas. His vision has also facilitated Indias advances in the global space market. Today, other nations benefit from Indias high-level technical workforce and commercial offerings of launch vehicles, satellites, subsystems, and earth observation data.

It was my good fortune to collaborate with Dr Kasturirangan during my term as president of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) when he was elected as the IAA vice president for scientific activities. In that position, Dr Kasturirangan brought increased focus on remote sensing and earth observations. He also guided the implementation of a new structure and was responsible for six mandates of IAA activities, such as organizing academy contributions to the annual International Astronautical Congress and initiating and reviewing reports of an increased number of IAA studies. He furthered his commitment to broader international cooperation by establishing small regional space conferences in diverse locations around the world in order to increase participation by more nations.

After his distinguished tenure at ISRO, Dr Kasturirangan fulfilled several responsibilities as a member of the Rajya Sabha and later as a member of the Indian Planning Commission. Further, he guided the activities of two unique institutions: the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) as its director and the Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (KJA) [also known as the Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC)] as its chairman. Both positions promoted multidisciplinary knowledge.

Throughout his career, Dr Kasturirangan has been invited to deliver lectures on a broad range of topics of national importance both within and outside of India. These lectures have been meticulously researched with comprehensive inputs from experts for each topic. This book lucidly highlights Dr Kasturirangans contributions over his entire career, including a selected set of his public lectures covering a wide range of subjects. These topics include developing hi-tech satellite systems; managing organizations as intricate as ISRO; tackling multifaceted, socioeconomic issues; helping form Indias nuclear deal; composing a report on the Western Ghats ecosystem (by a national panel headed by him), and drafting the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2018 (developed by a committee he chaired).

Dr Kasturirangans leadership has established India as a major spacefaring nation that has benefited the global space community. His story will inspire all who are interested in expanding the frontiers of outer space, which is the newest realm of human activity.

Further, his extraordinary journey in life as narrated in this book provides a glimpse of the interesting and varied roles that Dr Kasturirangan played, the challenges that he faced, and the innovative approaches that he adopted. Dr Kasturirangan created successful outcomes regardless of the complexity and demanding nature of the various situations that he faced in different phases of his life and career.