NewDelhi: ISRO is gearing up for a change at the top with V. Narayanan taking over from the current chairman, S. Somanath, on the 14th of January. The appointment was announced by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and signals a major leadership change at India’s top space organisation.
Narayanan, who is currently the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Valiamala, will be assuming the new position. Abridged Narayanan has been awarded many honours, like the Sri Award by the Astronautical Society of India and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Kharagpur.
The new chairman will come in for a two-year term, with the current chairman, S. Somanath, who assumed the position on 14 January 2022. Somanath’s time in the office saw many important missions come to a fruitful end, which only served to strengthen the status of ISRO as one of the leading space agencies in the world.
As ISRO moves into this leadership transition, the space community is also looking forward to the new path and new programs that Narayanan may chart for the organisation. Given his experience in propulsion systems and his previous accomplishment in mission-critical projects, much will be expected of him in India’s space endeavours.