Dr. V. Narayanan has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Space and the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Currently serving as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), he will officially take over these roles on January 14, 2025, succeeding S. Somanath.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment on January 7, 2025, stating that he will serve for a period of two years or until further notice. Dr. V. Narayanan is a specialist in rocket and spacecraft propulsion, having joined ISRO in 1984, where he has held multiple key roles before becoming the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).
Throughout his career, he has worked on important projects involving solid propulsion for sounding rockets and contributed to significant launch vehicles like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous launch vehicles. He also played a key role in analyzing the hard landing of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and was responsible for delivering propulsion systems for Chandrayaan-3.
As he steps into this leadership position, Dr. Narayanan will oversee ISRO’s ambitious projects, including upcoming missions like Gaganyaan, which aims to send astronauts into space. His extensive experience and technical knowledge are expected to guide India’s space program toward new achievements in exploration and technology development.
