V Narayanan named new ISRO chief, succeeds S Somanath

Narayanan's expertise lies in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. He was the Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the GSLV Mk Ill vehicle.

Rocket scientist V Narayanan was appointed Secretary of the Department of Space on Tuesday. He succeeds S Somanath, who will complete his tenure next week.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri V. Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission for a period of two years with effect from 14.01.2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," an official order said.

The Secretary of the Department of Space also holds the charge of chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Somanath had assumed charge as the Secretary, Department of Space, on January 14, 2022, for a three-year term.

Narayanan, a distinguished Scientist at the ISRO, has nearly four decades of experience and has held various key positions within the Indian space organisation.

Narayanan's expertise lies in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. He was the Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the GSLV Mk Ill vehicle.

Under his leadership, the team successfully developed the C25 Stage, a vital component of GSLV Mk III.

Narayanan, who is a Rocket & Space Craft Propulsion Expert, joined the ISRO in 1984 and functioned in various capacities before becoming Director of the Centre.

During the initial phase, for four and a half years, he worked in the Solid Propulsion area of Sounding Rockets and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

In 1989, he completed M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering with First Rank at IIT-Kharagpur and joined the Cryogenic Propulsion area in Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).