Former chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Udupi Ramachandra Rao, passed away at about 2:30 am today, aged 85. He served as ISRO's chief from 1984 to 1994 and is widely known as the man behind India's first satellite Aryabhatta. He was awarded India's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan by the government in 2017.