From Space to Sea

In 2008, with the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) joined an elite space club. The foundation of this achievement, however, was laid decades ago by a small group of people, one of whom was Dr Abraham E. Muthunayagam.

Handpicked by Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Muthunayagam was the chief architect of rocket propulsion in the country, directing the project that developed the Vikas engine, which sent many Indian rockets into space, including the one that took Chandrayaan-1 to the Moon.

In From Space to Sea and Beyond, Muthunayagam looks back at the nascent phase of the Indian space programme, the breakthroughs, international collaborations, and professional rivalries and jealousies that were the highlight of his years at ISRO. Though he was eventually transferred from the organization, it did not signal the end of his career. Just like propulsion systems land up in the ocean after completing their missions in space, Muthunayagam too joined, and subsequently transformed, the Department of Ocean Development.

A riveting mix of memoir and history, this book is an inspiring call to young Indians to carry forward the spirit of enquiry.