Indian space hero, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma turns 73 today, January 13.

Rakesh Sharma,  Hero of the Soviet Union, born 13 January 1949, is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11, launched April 2, 1984, as part of the Intercosmos programme. He was the first Indian to travel in space.

Rakesh Sharma, a graduate of the 35th National Defence Academy, joined the Indian Air Force in 1970 as a test pilot.

He flew various Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) aircraft starting from 1971. Rakesh Sharma swiftly progressed through many levels, and in 1984 he was named the Indian Air Force's squadron leader and pilot. As part of a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Soviet Intercosmos space programme, he was selected on September 20th, 1982, to become a cosmonaut and enter into space.

When he boarded the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11 that took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic on April 2, 1984, he became the first Indian national to travel into space. The three-person Soviet-Indian crew, which also included the ship's commander Yury Malyshev and flight engineer Gennadi Strekalov (USSR), were moved to the Salyut 7 Orbital Station by the Soyuz T-11 after it docked. 

During his 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7, his team carried out 43 experimental sessions as part of scientific and technological studies. His work mostly focused on remote sensing and biomedicine. Together with representatives from Moscow and the then-prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, the crew staged a joint televised news conference. Sharma responded Saare Jahan Se Achcha when Indira Gandhi questioned him about how India seemed from orbit (the best in the world). This is the name of a classic patriotic poem by Iqbal that was written during the British colonial era when India was ruled by the British. India was the fourteenth country to send a man into space.
He left the military as a Wing Commander. He began working with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1987 and held the position of Chief Test Pilot in the HAL Nashik Division till 1992, when he transferred to Bangalore to take up the position. He was connected to the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft as well.

Upon his return from space, he received the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He and the other two Soviet members of his mission, Malyshev and Strekalov, received the Ashoka Chakra, the Republic of India's highest honour for valour during times of peace.

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