considered by the Indian scientific community to be the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India. Born on 25 September 1920 in Srinagar, India, and educated in India and the United States, Dhawan succeeded Vikram Sarabhai in 1972 as chair of the ISRO; he also chaired the Space Commission and was secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space. In the decade following his appointment he directed the Indian space programme through a period of extraordinary growth and spectacular achievement. He is credited for setting up the first supersonic wind tunnel in India, at the Indian Institute of Science where he was a professor. His efforts in rural education and remote sensing and communications led to the creation of the Indian National Satellite System, the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle that placed India in the league of spacefaring nations. Following his death in 2002, the Indian satellite launch centre at Sriharikota was renamed the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.