Professor Eknath Chitnis (100) who laid ISRO's foundation passes away
Professor Eknath Chitnis, a driving force behind India's space ambitions, passed away in Pune on Wednesday at the age of 100.
Handpicked by Vikram Sarabhai, Chitnis helped shape INCOSPAR into what we now know as ISRO, laying the groundwork for India's rise in space exploration.
His work included bringing Kalam into ISRO
Chitnis was behind the selection of launch sites like Thumba and Sriharikota—places that became central to India's rocket launches.
As director of ISRO's Space Applications Centre, he led projects like the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975-76, bringing educational TV to 2,400 villages using NASA satellites.
He also played a key role in bringing APJ Abdul Kalam into ISRO and was honored with the Padma Bhushan in 1985 for his contributions.
He died at his residence in Pune
After retiring from ISRO in the mid-1980s, Chitnis continued to inspire from Pune.
His work not only advanced Indian science but also made tech education accessible across rural India—a legacy that lives on through both his family and generations of scientists he influenced.