Dr V Narayanan has been appointed as the next chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), according to an official notification released on Tuesday. He will succeed S. Somnath and officially assume the role on January 14.
Dr. Narayanan, a distinguished scientist at ISRO, currently serves as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). With nearly four decades of experience in the Indian space sector, he has held several pivotal positions within the organization, specializing in rocket and spacecraft propulsion.
Among his notable achievements, Dr. Narayanan served as the Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the GSLV Mk III vehicle. Under his leadership, the team successfully developed the C25 Stage, a crucial component of the GSLV Mk III.
Throughout his tenure at LPSC, Dr. Narayanan has overseen the delivery of 183 Liquid Propulsion Systems and Control Power plants for various ISRO missions. His contributions include the realization of the 2nd and 4th Stages of the PSLV, as well as control power plants for PSLV C57. He also played a key role in the propulsion systems for the Aditya Spacecraft and the GSLV Mk III missions, including Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3.
V. Narayanan has played a significant role in the development of Ablative nozzle systems, composite motor cases, and composite igniter cases, focusing on process planning, control, and realization. He is currently the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), a key facility of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Valiamala, near Thiruvananthapuram, with an additional site in Bengaluru.
Recently, ISRO made headlines for successfully launching SpaDex, a domestically developed space docking technology that is essential for ambitious future missions such as Chandrayaan 4 (a lunar mission) and Gaganyaan (India's human spaceflight program). This achievement places India among a select group of countries—including the United States, Russia, and China—that possess such advanced technology.
Dr. Narayanan's work has been recognised with numerous accolades, including the Silver Medal from IIT Kharagpur, a Gold Medal from the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), and the National Design Award from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
(With inputs from agencies)