V. Narayanan, who is ready to take over as ISRO Chairman, phrases his new task ‘an ideal duty’

V. Narayanan, who will take over as ISRO Chairman from January 14, poses close to a mannequin of the Chandrayaan-3 moon lander.
| Picture Credit score: Particular association

V. Narayanan, a famous rocket and spacecraft propulsion skilled, is ready to succeed S. Somanath as the following Chairman of Indian House Analysis Organisation (ISRO) at a time when India’s area sector is in reform-mode and the nationwide area company has main initiatives lined up together with the Gaganyaan human spaceflight, the Chandrayaan-4 mission and the event of the nation’s personal area station.

Chatting with The Hindu on Wednesday (January 8, 2025), Dr. Narayanan, who has been heading the ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Methods Centre (LPSC) since January 2018, described his upcoming task as a “nice duty” in addition to a “nice alternative to comply with within the footsteps of stalwarts who led the ISRO over the many years.”

Given the ISRO’s busy calendar for 2025, Dr. Narayanan is kind of conscious that he has little to no time to relaxation on his laurels. “In direction of January-end now we have the GSLV Mk-II/IRNSS-1 Ok mission. We even have lined up the primary of the uncrewed flights of the Gaganyaan programme, the G-1 mission, in addition to a business launch utilizing the LVM3 launch car,” he mentioned. “These aside, there are a number of experiments associated to the Gaganyaan programme. So that you see, now we have our arms full,” he mentioned.

Excessive-profile programmes within the ISRO’s to-do record embody the Chandrayaan-4 moon mission, the event of India’s personal area station, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, a second mission to Mars and the maiden Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM). Whereas all of this will likely not occur throughout Dr. Narayanan’s tenure, the area company has kicked off preparations.

As per the Union Cupboard’s Appointments’ Committee choice, Dr. Narayanan will take over as Secretary, Division of House and Chairman, House Fee, “for a interval of two years” from January 14, 2025.

Dr. Narayanan, who who was born right into a humble farming household in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, brings a ton of expertise to the Chairman’s put up, having joined the area company in 1984 and labored in certainly one of its core areas – rocket propulsion.

Growing India’s presence in area tops his record of priorities, in accordance with Dr. Narayanan. That is additionally an space the place the area sector reforms that had been set in movement a number of years in the past by opening it as much as personal gamers will play an important position, he mentioned.

“In case you take a look at societal and strategic functions, at present now we have about 53 satellites in orbit. We want many extra for communication, navigation and earth remark functions. The ISRO by itself can’t meet this requirement. The reforms will assist on this space. We’ve got been giving alternatives to the personal sector and the startup ecosystem,” he mentioned.

Dr. Narayanan additionally drew consideration to India’s plans to broaden its share within the world economic system from 2% to 10%. “To this point now we have not concentrated a lot on the area economic system facet. We have to have our due share, although. We’re focusing on 10%,” he mentioned.

He reiterated the significance that the ISRO locations on collaboration with different area companies. “In our improvement stage as an area company, certainly there was assist. At present, all of the spacefaring nations actually perceive our skills and strengths. Energy respects power,” he mentioned.

Growing India’s presence in area tops his record of priorities, in accordance with Dr. Narayanan.
| Picture Credit score:
Particular association

Dr. Narayanan was born to C. Vanniyaperumal, a farmer, and S. Thangammal, a homemaker, in Melakattuvilai, a village in Kanyakumari district. He has three brothers and two sisters. Younger Narayanan and his siblings studied in a Tamil medium faculty close to their house. It was when Narayanan was in Class IX that their house received an electrical energy connection. He was a category X topper in his faculty.

Dr. Narayanan is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Know-how-Kharagpur. He obtained his M.Tech. in cryogenic engineering with a primary rank in 1989 and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 2001.

As a rocket propulsion skilled, Dr. Narayanan has carried out necessary work on main ISRO missions and programmes together with cryogenic expertise, the moon (Chandrayaan 1, 2 and three), Mars (Mangalyaan) and Aditya-L1 (to check the solar) missions and the upcoming Gaganyaan programme throughout a profession spanning 4 many years.

On becoming a member of the ISRO on February 1, 1984, he initially labored on stable propulsion on the Vikram Sarabhai House Centre (VSSC). In 1989, he moved to the LPSC to work on cryogenic propulsion. “His contributions made India one amongst six international locations on this planet to have the complicated and excessive efficiency cryogenic propulsion programs and made it autonomous on this space. He has additionally finalised the Propulsion Street Map of ISRO for the following 20 years (2017-2037),” the LPSC has famous. At LPSC, his group has additionally been engaged on propulsion programs that use semi-cryogenic and electrical propulsion applied sciences.

Dr. Narayanan is married to Kavitharaj N.Ok. The couple has a daughter, Divyaa, and a son, Kalesh.