Leader who became invisible at the time of success
When Dr Satish Dhawan was the chairman of ISRO in the late seventies, Dr Kalam was the mission director of ALV-3. When in August 1979, the SLV-3 d-1 version failed after enormous media hype, Dr Kalam was crestfallen. Since it was India’s first satellite launch, media—including the international press—was waiting for the mission director Dr Kalam’s briefing. Dr Dhawan promptly decided to address the press himself fielding questions like “Why have the Indian scientists sunk Rs 20 crore at one go in the Bay of Bengal?”.
Eleven months later, the moment of glory came when the d-2 version of the SLV was successfully launched in July 1980. This time Dr Dhawan refused to do the briefing. “He was a leader who became invisible at the time of success,” Dr Kalam said.