M.C. Dathan who retires from service as Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on Sunday appears to be in mission mode, albeit for a different role in life. He is as yet not ready to bid goodbye to his vision of manned space missions and development of home-grown technologies for launch vehicles.
Post- retirement, he has plans to concentrate on organic farming, something he has already developed a yen for. “I find delight in farming. Besides that, I expect to find time for expansive reading and interact with schoolchildren on space subjects. But above all, I am prepared to help out my colleagues at ISRO in preparing reports and other professional matters,” he said in a chat with pressperons here on Friday.
Mr. Dathan, who occupied the director’s chair at VSSC for 11 months, considers the success of the experimental launch of GSLV-Mk3 last December as the highpoint of his tenure. “The progress of the RLV-TD project for the development of a technology demonstrator for the reusable launch vehicle was made possible because of the priority accorded to the project last year.”
