Somnath appointed ISRO chief

Somnath, currently the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, will take over from K Sivan, who is set to retire on Friday.

Senior rocket scientist S Somnath was on Wednesday appointed the next chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the space secretary, an order issued by the central government said.

Somnath appointed ISRO chief

Somnath, currently the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, will take over from K Sivan, who is set to retire on Friday.

Fifty-eight-year-old Somnath, who will become the 10th chairperson of the Indian space agency, has previously held the position of team leader for the Integration of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from Kerala University, and completed his postgraduation in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

“His appointment is for a combined tenure of three years from the date of joining of the post, inclusive of an extension in tenure beyond the age of superannuation in public interest,” an order issued by the Centre said.

Speaking to the media, Somnath said that the aim during his tenure will be to expand the space programme on a bigger scale.

“The primary responsibility is to create a space enterprise in the country where all stakeholders come together to expand the space programme in the country on a bigger scale and aligning the overall space programme with the mission of the government,” he said.

Sivan, the outgoing Isro chief, was in January 2018 appointed as the space agency’s chairperson, secretary of the department of space and chairman, space commission. He was in December 2020 given a one-year extension till January 14, 2022. The posts of the ISRO chairman, the space secretary and the space commission chief are usually held by the same person.

The announcement came on a day Isro successfully conducted the qualification test of the cryogenic engine for the Gaganyaan programme for a duration of 720 seconds at its propulsion complex in Tamil Nadu’s Mahendragiri.

India’s first-of-its-kind human space mission, the Gaganyaan is set to be launched in 2023, the Union ministry of science and technology said last year. This launch will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a human spaceflight mission after the US, Russia and China.

“The performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine parameters were closely matching with the predictions during the entire duration of the test,” Isro said.

“This successful long-duration test is a major milestone for the human space programme – Gaganyaan. It ensures the reliability and robustness of the cryogenic engine for induction into the human-rated launch vehicle for Gaganyaan.”

The ISRO said that this engine will undergo four more tests for a cumulative duration of 1,810 seconds and, subsequently, one more engine will undergo two short-duration tests and one long-duration test to complete the cryogenic engine qualification for the Gaganyaan programme.