North News
New Delhi, January 8
V Narayanan, a key architect behind India’s lunar missions, has been appointed the new chairman of ISRO and Secretary of the Department of Space. He will succeed Dr. S Somanath, whose tenure concludes next week. Dr. Narayanan, a rocket scientist with nearly four decades at ISRO, joined the organization in 1984. His work has been instrumental in developing technologies for India’s launch vehicles, including the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the heavy-lift LVM3. Known for his expertise in propulsion systems, Narayanan is poised to lead ISRO through its next phase of advancements.
Dr. Somanath, who took over as ISRO chief in January 2022, presided over a transformative era. His tenure saw the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-land near the Moon’s South Pole, a historic achievement for India. He also oversaw the debut of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and the launches of Aditya-L1, XPoSat, and SpaDeX.
Other accomplishments included testing the SCE-200 engine and launching the Gaganyaan-G1 campaign. During this period, the government approved future missions such as Chandrayaan-4, the Venus Orbiter Mission, and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
Despite being diagnosed with cancer in September 2023, Dr. Somanath continued to lead ISRO, resuming work shortly after surgery and chemotherapy. His leadership also enhanced ISRO’s global reputation through increased public engagement and outreach.
As Dr. Somanath steps down, ISRO and the nation commend his contributions, which began at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and spanned decades, including leadership of the LVM3 project.
Dr. Narayanan now takes the helm at ISRO, tasked with steering the agency into its next era of innovation and exploration.
