Meet man who would have become 1st Indian in space, know what he said about Gaganyaan mission

Former Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra, who came within a whisker of becoming India’s first astronaut in 1984, still harbors his space odyssey. When Malhotra was 28 years old, he was chosen, together with Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, for the Indo-Soviet space mission. As a backup to Sharma, he was to fly in Soyuz T-11 which was launched on April 3, 1984, making Sharma the first and only Indian to go to space.

Before celebrating National Space Day, Malhotra, the unknown star of India’s early space program, said he wanted to go on India’s next Gaganyaan mission. He further said, if given a choice, he would fly into space, preferably on India’s Gaganyaan, adding that, if a 77-year-old American senator could fly to space, he too could achieve his life-long dream.

In the Gaganyaan mission, India intends to launch astronauts to an orbit of 400 km above the Earth’s surface for at least 24 hours and then return them safely. Four astronauts have been finalised for the mission – Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan, Ajit Krishnan, and Angad Prathap. Shukla and Nair are now in training with NASA for an Indo-US mission which is planned to be launched to the ISS in 2025.

Reflecting on the 1984 space mission, Malhotra said that it was painful not to be chosen to go but he knew that only one of them could go. ‘It is the case of having to play the cards that are dealt,’ but, he admitted, there was a moment of disappointment when he did not make the team. Malhotra was the only trained Indian astronaut till recently when India selected the four Gaganyatris as the new name for astronaut designates. However, Malhotra has not given up hope and has remained optimistic about the situation. He is a fitness freak and lives life king size; fighter jet sorties can be heard close to his house in Bengaluru.

Malhotra is confident that the four Gaganyatris will do justice to their roles because they are all toppers in their batches in the Indian Air Force. “They will do a wonderful job as astronauts,” he said. The Gaganyaan mission is something Malhotra has put his confidence in and when the four astronauts were undergoing their basic training and selection, Malhotra was part of the IAM Institute in Bengaluru.

This elite institution also took Sharma and Malhotra in the year 1983. When asked about ISRO's ability to successfully execute the ₹10,000 crore Gaganyaan mission, Malhotra expressed unwavering faith.

"I have no doubt in my mind that India and ISRO will pull this mission off very successfully as and when we are ready with it," he said. Malhotra believes ISRO's confidence in its capabilities is well-founded. He also expressed confidence in ISRO's ability to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's challenge to land an Indian on the moon by 2040. "There is a lot of work to be done, but it will happen," Malhotra said.

Malhotra's own career in the Indian Air Force was marked by significant achievements. He flew fighter planes and participated in air raids into Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. He later attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was selected for the Indo-Soviet space programme in 1982. After returning from the Soviet Union, Malhotra was awarded the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples in 1984 and the Kirti Chakra in 1985. He took early retirement from the Indian Air Force in 1995 at the rank of Air Commodore and joined the Bengaluru-based aerospace company Dynamatic Technologies Limited.