Know all about IIT alumnus V Narayanan who will lead ISRO

New York: V Narayanan who has been appointed the new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and Secretary, Department of Space by the Union government, is an IIT alumnus and cryogenic engine developer.

Narayanan is expected to take charge from S Somanath, the current head of the organisation, on January 14.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in a notification on Tuesday, said Narayanan, currently the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala, will take charge of ISRO for a tenure of two years.

Narayanan, who will also be the Chairman of the Space Commission, has played a key role in India’s development of the cryogenic engine — a technology crucial for the launch of Chandrayaan 2 and 3 missions.

Citing “great talent” in India, Narayanan said he “hopes to take ISRO to greater heights”.

Who is V Narayanan?

Born in Melakattu village in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari District, Narayanan completed his early schooling in his hometown. After earning a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (DME) and an Associate Membership in Mechanical Engineering from the Institution of Engineers (AMIE), he went to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur to pursue a Master of Technology (M.Tech) in Cryogenic Engineering.

He also earned a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur.

The rocket and spacecraft propulsion expert first joined ISRO in 1984 and rose through the ranks to become the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in 2018.

He had earlier worked in the Solid Propulsion area of Sounding Rockets and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

Narayanan also worked as the Project Director for the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) C25 Cryogenic Project.

He oversaw the group that created the C25 Cryogenic Stage, which uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to power a 20-tonne thrust engine. The GSLV Mk III vehicle was successfully launched on this stage for the first time.

His key contributions to Indian space missions include the development of propulsion systems for the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions. It includes the L110 Liquid Stage and C25 Cryogenic Stage for the LVM3 propulsion systems — crucial in transporting the spacecraft from Earth to the Moon’s orbit.

The distinguished scientist has been contributing to the impending Gaganyaan programme — India’s human spaceflight mission — for developing human-rating the LVM3 vehicle, human-rated L110, and C32 Cryogenic Stages.

He has also been involved in the Environmental Control and Safety Systems, and propulsion systems for the Service and Crew modules. He also oversaw the successful demonstration of the crew escape system.

Narayanan’s appointment comes at a time when the Indian space sector has major projects lined up including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight, the Chandrayaan-4 mission, and the development of the country’s own space station.

IANS