New Delhi: V Narayanan will succeed S Somanath as the new chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation, an official order said on Tuesday. Narayanan, a renowned rocket scientist, will take over the position on January 14.
Narayanan was also appointed Secretary of the Department of Space.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri V. Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission for two years with effect from 14.01.2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the order said.
The secretary of the Department of Space also serves as chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Somanath assumed charge as the Secretary, of the Department of Space, on January 14, 2022, for a three-year term.
V Narayanan, a renowned rocket scientist at ISRO, boasts nearly forty years of experience and has occupied several important roles within the Indian space organisation.
Narayanan's expertise lies in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. He was the Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the GSLV Mk Ill vehicle. Under his leadership, the team successfully developed the C25 Stage, a vital component of GSLV Mk III.
Narayanan joined the ISRO in 1984 and functioned in various capacities before becoming Director of the Centre.
During the initial phase, for four and a half years, he worked in the Solid Propulsion area of Sounding Rockets and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
In 1989, he completed his M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering with First Rank at IIT-Kharagpur and joined the Cryogenic Propulsion area at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). Currently, Narayanan is the Director of LPSC, one of the major Centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) having its Headquarters at Valiamala in Thiruvananthapuram, with a unit at Bangalore.
(With agency inputs).
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