Dinesh Sharma’s new book on ‘Space: The India Story’ is creating more ripples

New Delhi: The International Day of Human Space Flight is observed every year to commemorate the maiden human space flight, which took place on 12th April 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel to space.

A new book on India’s space heritage and technological journey recalls how Gagarin became a household name in India, and was accorded a public reception when he toured the country in November 1961. The book, Space: The India Story, written by science journalist and author Dr Dinesh C Sharma was released at Utsav in GMR Aerocity on April 12.

The book came out in the market a few weeks ago.

“India’s space journey is remarkable, starting with humble beginnings in the 1960s, to becoming one of the leading space programmes in the world,” said Dr Kiran Karnik, space veteran and former President of Nasscom. This, he said, could be achieved due to the clear vision of the founders and continuous political and policy support for the space programme.

Arun Maira, a former Member of the Planning Commission, spoke about how the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) consistently embraced the principle of frugal innovation—achieving world-class results with modest resources.

During the interactive session that followed the launch, the author Dr Sharma revealed several lesser-known stories of the space programme in the initial decades, the hurdles it faced, and how they were overcome. Mohit Gupta, founder of the Friends of Books, moderated the session and conducted a lively space-themed quiz that sparked laughter, learning, and plenty of ‘aha’ moments.

The 240-page book, published by Bloomsbury, is divided into two sections – India in Space and Indians in Space. The first section captures the achievements of India in rocketry, satellite development, applications as well as missions to the Moon. The second part deals with the stories of astronauts – Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla, and Sunita Williams, as well as the four astronaut candidates of ISRO undergoing training for the mission to the International Space Station and the Gaganyaan mission.