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Two Presidents who are space engineers

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Ukraine President Visits ISRO Satellite Centre

(Oct 05, 2002) The President of Ukraine, Mr Leonid Kuchma, visited the ISRO Satellite Centre this morning (October 5, 2002). He was accompanied by ministers and senior officials of Ukraine. Mr S Kipgen, Ambassador of India to Ukraine and other senior officials of Ministry of External Affairs of Government of India were also present.

Dr K Kasturirangan, Chairman, ISRO, received the Ukraine President and briefed him on the Indian space programme. The President of Ukraine, who is also a space engineer and who was involved in the design of rockets, evinced keen interest in the Indian space programme. He appreciated the efforts of India in the development of space technology and its applications to various national tasks.

It may be noted that India and Ukraine signed a cooperative agreement in 1994 for the peaceful uses of outer space. ISRO and the National Space Agency of Ukraine are the coordinating agencies for this agreement.

The President of Ukraine also visited the spacecraft integration facilities at ISRO Satellite Centre and the space exhibition before his departure from the Centre.
http://asia.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=9431

DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM
PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s launch vehicle programme, particularly the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft.

As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, from November 1999 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020………………..

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/presidentprofile.jsp