Chennai, January 14, 2025: Dr. V. Narayanan, an eminent scientist at the pinnacle of his career (Apex Grade), has officially taken charge as Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman of the Space Commission, and Chairman of ISRO.
He assumed office yesterday afternoon, succeeding outgoing Chief S. Somanath at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.
In a statement, the Space Agency highlighted that prior to this, Dr. Narayanan served as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), a significant division of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), headquartered at Valiamala in Thiruvananthapuram with a unit in Bangalore.
As Director, he offered exceptional technical and managerial leadership to LPSC, which focuses on the development of Liquid, Semi-Cryogenic, and Cryogenic Propulsion Stages for launch vehicles, as well as Chemical and Electric Propulsion Systems for satellites, control systems for launch vehicles, and transducer systems for propulsion health monitoring.
The ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) located at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, a unit tasked with assembling, integrating, and testing liquid propulsion systems, also operated under his leadership. As Chairman of the LPSC-IPRC Coordination Committee, he oversaw critical operations.
Dr. Narayanan, in his role as Chairman of the Project Management Council for Space Transportation Systems (PMC-STS), steered decision-making processes for all launch vehicle projects and programs. He also chaired the National Level Human Rated Certification Board (HRCB) for the Gaganyaan program.
Joining ISRO in 1984, Dr. Narayanan, a specialist in rocket and spacecraft propulsion, has held various prestigious positions. He became Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in January 2018.
Coming from modest beginnings, he earned his M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, where he was awarded a silver medal for topping his M.Tech program. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018 and the Life Fellowship Award in 2023 from his alma mater.
Before joining ISRO, he briefly worked with TI Diamond Chain Ltd, Madras Rubber Factory, and BHEL at Trichy and Ranipet. Over his 40-year career at ISRO, including seven years as LPSC Director, his contributions have been instrumental in numerous advancements.
Promoted to the esteemed rank of Distinguished Scientist (Apex Scale), Dr. Narayanan oversaw the delivery of 226 liquid propulsion systems and control power plants for ISRO’s launch vehicles and satellites. When denied access to cryogenic technology for the GSLV Mk-II, he spearheaded the design, software development, infrastructure creation, and successful operationalization of the Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS).
As Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the LVM3 vehicle, he successfully led the development of the C25 Cryogenic Stage powered by a 20-tonne thrust engine, ensuring the maiden success of the LVM3 vehicle.
His academic research contributed significantly to cryogenic propulsion systems, placing India among a select group of six nations possessing this capability, ensuring self-reliance in launch vehicle technology.
For the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions, he led teams delivering propulsion systems that transported spacecraft from Earth to the Moon and facilitated the Vikram lander’s successful soft landing near the lunar south pole.
Dr. Narayanan chaired the expert committee that analyzed the reasons for Chandrayaan-2’s hard landing and recommended enhancements that led to Chandrayaan-3’s triumph.
For the Aditya-L1 mission, he guided the realization of key propulsion systems, enabling India to become the fourth nation with a successful satellite to study the Sun.
In the Gaganyaan program, he contributed to human rating of LVM3, the development of crew module systems, and certification of human spaceflight systems.
Under his leadership, major propulsion projects, including the development of the LOX-Kerosene Semi-Cryogenic Rocket System and LOX-Methane engine, were accomplished.
Recognized with 26 awards, his accolades include the APJ Abdul Kalam Award 2023, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Award for Chandrayaan-3, and the 2024 Laurels for Team Achievement by the International Academy of Astronautics.
Dr. Narayanan is a fellow of multiple prestigious organizations and has contributed extensively to scientific literature, authoring over 1,200 ISRO reports and numerous journal papers.
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