HIGHLIGHTS:
- Dr. S Somanath, ISRO’s new chairman, was instrumental in the PSLV mission’s success, and he hopes to duplicate the feat with the impending Gaganyaan mission.
- For the next three years, he will serve as the director of ISRO.
- He served as Deputy Director of Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity in 2014.
Dr. S Somnath took over as ISRO’s new chairman. He will take over for K Sivan. He is the fourth Keralite to hold the highest position in ISRO. K Radhakrishnan, Madhavan Nair, and K Kasturirangan were the prior Keralites.
Concerning Sivan and his extension
Somnath was first nominated in 2019. On the basis of his seniority, he was nominated. Sivan’s term was, however, extended by one year.
Somnath’s background
Somnath obtained his college pre-degree at Ernakulam’s Maharaja College. TKM College of Engineering was where he studied engineering. In 1985, he began working at the VSSC centre. He earned his master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science.
ISRO is where he works.
- During the early stages of the PSLV project, he was involved.
- The LVM3-X/CARE experimental test flight was performed under his direction.
- He was appointed Associate Director of ISRO in 2010.
- He was the GSLV Mk – III project director.
- He served as Deputy Director of Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity in 2014.
- He was named director of the Valiamala Liquid Propulsion System Centre in Thiruvananthapuram in 2015.
- He is the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at the moment (VSSC).
Appointment of Somnath
He was appointed by the Ministry of Personnel. For the next three years, he will serve as the director of ISRO. His term will be extended in the future based on popular interest. Somnath has a background in structural engineering, launch vehicle system engineering, structural dynamics, mechanism design, and pyrotechnics.
Chairman of the ISRO
The secretary of the Indian government is the chairman of ISRO. He works for the Department of Space as an executive. The Department directly reports to the Prime Minister. ISRO’s longest-serving chairman is Vikram Sarabhai. He was in the military for 12 years. He urged Nehru to create INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) under the Department of Atomic Energy in 1962. In 1969, INCOSPAR was renamed ISRO.
