Abdul Kalam, Designing a Fighter Jet: Learn English (US) - Story for Children "BookBox.com"

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Kalam's professor warned him that his scholarship would end if he did not make a better design in three days. Could Kalam realize his dream of designing a fighter jet in such a short time?
Failure to Success
It was finally
time for the launch.
We had worked
for seven long years
for this moment.
The whole team
waited anxiously as SLV-3,
India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle,
was prepared for the launch.
The countdown began:
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four
three, two, one, liftoff!
The first stage
performed to perfection.
We stood spellbound watching,
our hopes soaring
in the form of SLV-3.
Suddenly
the spell was broken.
The second stage
went out of control
and the flight was terminated
after three hundred
and seventeen seconds.
The rocket crashed into the sea
and all our hopes
drowned with it.
One moment there was magic,
the next,
a feeling of utter hopelessness.
This event
came as a big shock
to most of us.
I felt angry and frustrated.
A press conference was scheduled.
The causes of the failure
were to be discussed.
I felt responsible
for the crash
and a dread filled my heart.
I knew that the press
would be full of critics
waiting to blame my team
and me.
But my chairman,
Professor Satish Dhawan,
took the mike from me
and answered all the questions
confidently.
His composure
and his clarity of thought
really impressed me.
He said,
"These are very complex missions.
We have to find out
what went wrong, correct it
and then make sure
that it's not repeated."
He also added, "I'm confident
that in exactly a year's time
we can successfully
place a satellite in orbit!"
His last sentence
made my heart soar.
I had hardly slept
for the past week
and I went straight to my room
and fell on my bed.
Exactly one year later,
on 18th July 1980,
the whole nation
was watching us again.
It was time for the launch
that was going to change
the future
of the Indian space programme.
In the early hours of the day,
SLV-3 lifted off.
The satellite was successfully
put into orbit.
Then I got the opportunity
to speak the most important words
I have ever uttered
in my life,
"Mission Director calling all stations.
All stages performed successfully
and the Rohini Satellite
is now in orbit."
There was a loud cheer
everywhere!
When I came out
of the building,
my colleagues lifted me
on their shoulders
and paraded me
around the launching pad.
It was my proudest
and happiest moment.
I was so proud of my team.
The whole nation was excited.
India had made its entry
into the small
elite group of nations
that possessed
satellite launch capability.
Every newspaper carried
headlines of the event.
A press conference
was held once again
and I requested
Professor Satish Dhawan
to address it.
But this time
he turned the mike towards me
and let me face the questions.
He knew
how hard I had worked
for the project
and thought
I should be given the privilege
of facing the press.
That day
I learnt how a leader
guides his team,
taking the blame
when faced with failure
and sharing the praise
in the event of success.
I hoped that someday
I could also support my team
in the same way.
Translator/Author : APJ Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari
Narration : BookBox
Music : Acoustricks
Illustration : Deepta Nangia
Animation : BookBox
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