The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), located in Bengaluru, is the country's first space exploration agency. ISRO was established in 1969 with the goal of developing and utilizing space technology for national development while also pursuing planetary exploration and space science research.
Under the leadership of Kailasavadivoo Sivan, an Indian space scientist who is the current Secretary and ex-officio chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and Space Commission, ISRO has earned a place among the world's elite space agencies by successfully demonstrating its unique and cost-effective technologies over the years.
Attention please
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is a pioneer space research agency that has earned a place among the world's elite space agencies over the years by successfully showcasing its unique and cost-effective technology.
Let's take a look at Kerala rocket scientist S Somanath's amazing career as he prepares to lead India's national space agency.
Rocking man
Somanath, a rocket scientist, was born in July 1963. ISRO's new chief, 58, hails from Aroor, a small town in Kerala, and it's now celebration time in Thuravoor, a panchayath in Kerala's Alappuzha district, since a kid from this village has gone on to become the head of the agency.
Somanath attended Aroor's St Augustine's School. After that, he completed his pre-degree at Ernakulam's Maharaja's College. Valsala, the wife of ISRO chief S Somanath, is an office superintendent in Thiruvananthapuram Central Excise and Customs. She comes from Poochakkal in Alappuzha. Malika and Madhav, his two children, have both completed their Post Graduate Engineering degrees.
Journey of village boy to ISRO chief
S Somanath, a rocket scientist, earned his pre-medical degree from Maharaja's College in Ernakulam and his mechanical engineering degree from TKM College of Engineering in Kollam. Dr. S Somanath graduated from TKM Engineering College as the college topper in the Mechanical Engineering branch in 1985, and in 1985, he joined the VSSC centre here, where he has had no need to turn back since.
Somnath then completed his Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering with a specialisation in Dynamics and Control at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Somanath worked on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project at the ISRO during its early stages. Somanath then became the VSSC's Associate Director (Projects) and, in 2010, the Project Director of the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle. Until November 2014, Dr. S Somanath was also the Deputy Director of the Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity. Somanath became Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram, in June 2015, and stayed there till January 2018. Later, Somanath took over as Director of VSSC from S Sivan, who went on to become Chairman of the ISRO, and is now expected to follow him in that position as well.
S Somanath, the new chairman of ISRO
S Somanath is a launch vehicle structural systems, structural dynamics, mechanisms, pyro systems, and launch vehicle integration expert. PSLV has become a highly sought-after launcher for microsatellites from all over the world as a result of his pioneering contributions to mechanical integration designs. He also oversaw the creation of the GSLV MkIII from a technological standpoint. Somanath will focus on technology, policy, implementation, and areas where stakeholders must be considered as part of his new ISRO Chairmanship.
Honors and awards
The Astronautical Society of India (ASI) awarded him the Space Gold Medal, while ISRO honored him with the Performance Excellence Award-2014 and Team Excellence Award-2014 for the GSLV Mk-III.
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