![]() ![]() ![]() This involved the creation of 4 projects: a surface-to-surface weapon system - Prithvi (the Earth), a tactical short range low surface-to-air missile - Trishul (the trident of Lord Shiva), a medium range surface-to-air defense system - Aakash (the Sky), an anti-tank missile project - Nag (the Cobra), and a 5th technology demonstrator project - a re-entry experiment launch vehicle - Agni (Fire). Dr Kalam also details a key meeting in the 1980s that initiated the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program under the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). This gives the reader an especially compelling insider’s perspective into some of his key contributions, including the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) launches in 19. He reminisces some of his interactions, and at the same time shares his perspectives on other well known peers in the field like Satish Dhavan, Bhram Prakash, V.S. ![]() He briefly mentions his trip to the USA for training with NASA, and his work at Langley and the Goddard Space Flight Center. ![]() He was interviewed by Dr Vikram Sarabhai - the Father of the Indian Space Program, and became one of the first rocket engineers at INCOSPAR, that later became the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). A description of an interview with the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in the 1960s was most interesting. It was fascinating to see him vividly recall specific learnings and quotes from decades in the past! Some of my favorites were - “To succeed in life, you need to master - Desire, Belief and Expectation” and “Adversities always present opportunities for introspection”. He talks about his studies at Madras Institute of Technology whilst naming his teachers and professors, who influenced his thinking the most. Recounting his past, he talks about his brother-in-law and his first cousin who helped him earn his first wages, and the lessons of honesty and self discipline that he learned from his father. Starting out with humble beginnings in Rameswaram, a small town in southern India, Dr Kalam takes the reader through many of the key highs and lows of his life. The book provides a largely chronological account of his life in the 20th century from the 1930s to the 1990s. As he famously said in his own edifying tone, there are 4 steps to success - Setting the goal, Acquiring knowledge towards that goal continuously, Putting in hard work with devotion, and lastly, Perseverance. For a man of his eminence, he also had quite a singular proclivity towards taking immense interest in personally corresponding with children via mail/email, with the sole motive of educating, guiding and inspiring the younger generation to dream big. His far-ranging contributions as a scientist, a statesman, as well as a poet put him in the most unique position of being able to make technological contributions, affect societal change, as well as communicate his thoughts and dreams to a wide audience. Dr Kalam has been a cosmic source of inspiration for a huge number of people of Indian origin due to his incommensurable achievements in science, missile and space technology. ![]()
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