V Narayanan appointed as new ISRO chairman, to succeed S Somnath

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of V Narayanan as the new Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary, Department of Space - for a period of two years, with effect from 14 January 2025, it said in an official notification.

Narayanan, who presently serves as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), one of the the major Centers of the ISRO, is a distinguished scientist with close to four decades of experience in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. 

As LPSC Director, Narayanan has been credited with techno-managerial leadership of the organization which is engaged in the development of Liquid, Semi Cryogenic and Cryogenic Propulsion Stages for Launch Vehicles, as per the official information.

During the last 5 years, he has delivered 164 liquid propulsion systems for 41 launch vehicle and 31 space craft missions. He also contributed in pursuing R&D activities and infrastructure development in Liquid Propulsion area, according to ISRO.

Education and early career

Narayanan completed M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur and joined the Cryogenic Propulsion area in LPSC, ISRO. He is a recipient of silver medal from IIT Kharagpur and Gold Medal from Astronautical Society of India (ASI) along with many other recognitions.

During the initial phase at ISRO, he worked in the solid propulsion area of sounding rockets, Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

Who will he succeed?

Narayanan will succeed the current chairman, S Somanath, who has been at the helm since January 2022 and was previously the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

As Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre during 2018-21, Somanath was responsible for Launch vehicle technology development where, LVM3-M1/Chandrayaan-2 mission was a major accomplishment. He spearheaded the development of critical systems for the Gaganyaan programme, development of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, Re-usable Launch Vehicle & Air-Breathing technology programs.