Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation

The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation is the statutory head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The officeholder is a secretary to the Government of India and an executive of the Department of Space (DOS) which directly reports to the prime minister of India.[3]

Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation
Logo of ISRO
Incumbent
S. Somanath[1]
since 15 January 2022
AppointerGovernment of India
Term lengthNot definite
Inaugural holderVikram Sarabhai
Formation1963 (as chairman of INCOSPAR)
Salary₹2.5 lakh (US$3,100) (Monthly basic)[2]
WebsiteChairman ISRO, Secretary DOS

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was founded in 1962 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) with Vikram Sarabhai as its chairperson which in 1969 became ISRO.[4] In 1972, government of India had set up a space commission and DOS and brought ISRO under DOS.[5]

Since Sarabhai has assumed the position, there have been eleven chairmen of the ISRO, with Satish Dhawan serving the longest term of 12 years as the chairman.

List of chairmen of ISRO
No. Portrait Name
(Lifespan)		 Term Ref(s)
Start End Term length
1 Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Sarabhai
(1919–1971)		 1963 1971 8 years [6]
Founder of INCOSPAR and widely regraded as father of Indian space program. his efforts led to creation of Indian Space Research Organisation.
2 M. G. K. Menon
(1928–2016)		 January 1972 September 1972 9 months [7]
He was notable mostly for his work on cosmic rays and particle physics particularly on the high-energy inter-actions of elementary particles.
3
Satish Dhawan
(1920–2002)		 1973 1984 12 years [8]
Satish Dhawan is known for his work on fluid dynamics and his tenure as longest serving chief of ISRO. His era marked with India attaining orbital launch capability in 1980 for the first time and start of INSAT program which became base for further development of spacecraft technologies.
4 Prof. U R Rao U. R. Rao
(1932–2017)		 1984 1994 10 years [9][10]
Also served as chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology; Rao pushed for launch vehicle development which subsequently lead to realisation of PSLV and later GSLV rockets, marked as key boosts to India's space capabilities. Launch capabilities with INSAT program eventually turned India into a major spacefaring nation.
5 Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan K. Kasturirangan
(1940– )		 1994 27 August 2003 9 years [11]
His era marked development of improved spacecraft in INSAT series and development of IRS series of remote sensing satellites and major improvements in earth observation satellite technologies. His tenure also saw operationalisation of PSLVs and first flight of GSLV which made India self sufficient launching its smaller & medium EO satellites.
6 G. Madhavan Nair G. Madhavan Nair
(1943– )		 1 September 2003 29 October 2009 6 years, 58 days [12]
Nair holds significant expertise on development of multi-stage launch vehicles and his era witnessed operationalisation of various variants of PSLV rocket. His tenure saw commencement of Indian Human Spaceflight Programme and launch of extraterrestrial exploration mission Chandrayaan-I. Following a controversial S-band spectrum deal involving Antrix Corporation, he had to step down.
7 K._Radhakrishnan_(scientist) K. Radhakrishnan
(1949– )		 30 October 2009 31 December 2014 5 years, 62 days [13][14][15]
He joined VSSC as a development engineer for electro-mechanical devices of launch vehicles and later oversaw annual budget and plans and database for resources. Introduction of IRNSS made India one of few countries with own navigation systems while introduction of GSLV Mk III later enabled India to launch its heavier satellites also. His era also witnessed successful launch and orbital insertion of Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first mars mission and cancellation of collaboration with Russia and redefining Chandrayaan-2 with Indian design and systems. Successful flight of India's own cryogenic stage on GSLV-D5 made it one of six countries with full launch capabilities.[lower-alpha 1]
- Shailesh Nayak (Scientist) Shailesh Nayak
(1953– )		 1 January 2015 12 January 2015 11 days [16]
He was primarily engaged studies related to oceanography and remote sensing and served as interim chief of ISRO for a brief period of 11 days.
8 A. S. Kiran Kumar A. S. Kiran Kumar
(1952– )		 14 January 2015 14 January 2018 3 years, 0 days [17]
His tenure is attributed with HEX which marks with beginning of development of reusable-launch vehicle, first orbital flight of GSLV Mk III, completion of NAVIC and launch of Astrosat, India's first space based observatory.
9 K. Sivan K. Sivan
(1957– )		 15 January 2018 15 January 2022 4 years, 0 days [18]
He earlier served as director of VSSC and LPSC and participated in development of PSLV rockets. His tenure was marked by the Chandrayaan-2 project which resulted in a failed Moon landing. His tenure also saw the acceleration of India's crewed space program. Short term goals include launch of Chandrayaan-3 to attempt a successful soft lunar landing, putting humans in space, launching missions to Venus and the Sun and development of SCE-200 rocket engine to facilitate realisation of India's heavy lift launch vehicle and increase commercial operations. He is also known for developing trajectory simulation software named SITARA which is still in use by ISRO.
10 S. Somanath
(1963– )		 15 January 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 285 days [19]
Somanath is known for his contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics.[20][21] He also served as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and [22] Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.[23] He was associated with the PSLV project and was the project director of GSLV Mk III in 2010. In his tenure in 2023, India successfully launched Chandrayan-3 and successfully made a soft landing in the south pole making it the first country to make a successful soft landing in the south pole. [20]

See also

Notes and references

References
  1. "S Somanath appointed tenth chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation". The Indian Express. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  2. Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (PDF). The Gazette of India (Report). Department of Expenditure. November 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. "Space commission". Department of Space. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  4. "Mangalorean.Com- Serving Mangaloreans Around The World!". mangalorean.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  5. "Department of Space and ISRO HQ - ISRO". Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  6. "Welcome To ISRO :: Former Chairman :: Dr. Vikram Sarabhai - Introduction". isro.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. "Welcome To ISRO :: Former Cha". isro.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. "Welcome To ISRO:ŖṢ★: Former Chairmen:: Prof Satish DhawanSatish Dhawan". isro.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. "Welcome To ISRO :: Former Chairman - Prof.Udupi Ramachandra Rao". isro.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  10. "Welcome to ISRO :: Former Chairman :: Prof. Udupi Ramachandra Rao - Introduction". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  11. "Welcome To ISRO :: Former Chairman :: Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan - Introduction". isro.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  12. "Shri G Madhavan Nair". About ISRO. Indian Space Research Organisation. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  13. "Dr. K. Radhakrishnan". About ISRO. Indian Space Research Organisation. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  14. "India's space odyssey: ISRO creates history in 2014". The Indian Express. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  15. "ISRO's Timeline from 1960s to Today - ISRO". Indian Space Research Organisation. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  16. Shailesh Nayak appointed as new ISRO chairman, Radhakrishnan retires
  17. "A S Kiran Kumar takes over as Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman, Space Commission and Chairman, ISRO". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  18. "K. Sivan takes charge as new ISRO chairman". The Hindu. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  19. "Malayali scientist Dr S Somanath appointed as ISRO chairman". Kerala Kaumudi. Thiruvanathapuram. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  20. "New Directors for Three Major ISRO Centres: Three major ISRO Centres have new Directors from today". www.isro.gov.in. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  21. Prasanna, Laxmi (22 January 2018). "S Somnath takes charge as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre's director". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  22. "Somanath takes charge as VSSC director". www.indiatoday.in. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  23. "Somanath takes charge as VSSC director". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

Notes
  1. Others include NASA (United States), RFSA (Russia), European Space Agency (EU), CNSA (China) and JAXA (Japan).
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