Regarded as the Father of Indian space program, Vikram Sarabhai founded ISRO in 1969, while also spearheading the launch of India's first satellite Aryabhata. As a result of Dr Sarabhai's dialogue with NASA in 1966, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was launched in 1975, bringing cable television to rural India. The Padma Vibhushan-awardee passed away on December 30, 1971.