Postage Stamp on Rakesh Sharma and India Space Milestones

Postage Stamp on Rakesh Sharma and India Space Milestones

The stamp pictures Rakesh Sharma. Born in India, he was part of a joint program between the Indian Space Research Organization and the Soviet Intercosmos space program. In 1984 he became the first Indian citizen in space as part of the Soyuz T-11 mission. He then received the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the highest honor that county bestows.

The stamp also pictures GSAT-3, the first Indian satellite built especially for the educational sector.

The souvenir sheet’s selvage carries a lot of history as well. It pictures the GSLV MK-1 and GSLV MK-3 expendable launch systems. Together they have completed a combined 12 missions, seven of which were successful. The selvage also pictures Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe, launched in 2008. During that mission the probe planted a flag on the moon, making India the fourth country to do so. It also discovered evidence of water on the moon.

Issued in 2009, this mint souvenir sheet honors several important milestones in India’s space exploration.