V. Narayanan has been appointed as the next chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary of the Department of Space, according to an official announcement made on Tuesday. He is set to take over from the current ISRO chief, S. Somnath, on January 14.
A distinguished scientist at ISRO, Narayanan currently serves as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Valiamala, Kerala.
With nearly four decades of experience in the Indian space programme, Narayanan has held several important roles within ISRO.
His expertise primarily focuses on rocket and spacecraft propulsion.
According to an official order from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Narayanan has been appointed to serve in these roles for the next two years, until further notice.
An official order from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training states, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of V. Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala, as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission, for a period of two years from January 14, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”
He is a Rocket and Space Craft Propulsion Expert and joined ISRO in 1984 and functioned in various capacities before becoming Director of LPSC.
The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, which Narayanan heads, is engaged in the development of liquid, semi-cryogenic and cryogenic propulsion stages for launch vehicles, chemical and electric propulsion systems for satellites, control systems for launch vehicles, and transducers development for space systems health monitoring.
He is also the Chairman of the Project Management Council-Space Transportation System (PMC-STS), the decision-making body in all launch vehicle projects and programmes, and the Chairman of the National Level Human Rated Certification Board (HRCB) for Gaganyaan, India’s planned human spaceflight mission.
During the initial phase, he worked in the Solid Propulsion area of Sounding Rockets and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
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He further contributed to the process planning, process control and realisation of Ablative nozzle systems, composite motor cases and composite Igniter cases.
At present, Narayanan is the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), one of the major Centres of the ISRO having its headquarters at Valiamala in Thiruvananthapuram, with a unit at Bangalore.
Having studied in Tamil-medium schools, Narayanan completed his M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur, where he was awarded a Silver Medal for achieving the first rank in the M Tech programme. The rocket and spacecraft propulsion expert joined ISRO in 1984 and rose through the ranks to become the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in 2018.
S Somanath took over as the ISRO Chief in January 2022 and it was under him that India became the first country in the world to land a rover in the South Pole region of the Moon. It also joined an elite club of countries to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, Russia, and China.
