Rocket scientist V Narayanan has been appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Space, succeeding S Somanath, who is concluding his tenure next week.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has confirmed the appointment of Shri V. Narayanan, currently the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Valiamala, as Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of the Space Commission. This role will be effective from 14.01.2025 for a duration of two years or until further notice, whichever comes first, as stated in an official order.
The Secretary of the Department of Space also undertakes the responsibilities of the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Somanath has served as Secretary of the Department of Space since January 14, 2022, for a three-year term.
Narayanan, a renowned scientist at ISRO, brings nearly four decades of comprehensive experience and has occupied numerous significant positions within the Indian space sector. His expertise is primarily in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. Notably, he was the project director for the C25 Cryogenic Project associated with the GSLV Mk III vehicle. Under his guidance, the team successfully engineered the C25 stage, a crucial component of the GSLV Mk III.
Having joined ISRO in 1984, Narayanan has excelled in various roles before ascending to the position of director at the centre. In the early stages of his career, he spent four and a half years working in the solid propulsion sector, focusing on Sounding Rockets, Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. In 1989, he earned an M.Tech in cryogenic engineering with top honours from IIT Kharagpur and subsequently joined the cryogenic propulsion team at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
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