S Somanath, an eminent rocket scientist, has been appointed as the chairman of ISRO. Somanath will succeed Kailasavadivoo Sivan who will complete his tenure on Friday.
Currently, S Somanath is the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Kerala.
Born in July 1963, he pursued mechanical engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kerala. Later, in 1985 the rocket scientist pursued a masters’ degree in Aerospace Engineering from IISc Bengaluru.
Being an expert in launching vehicle designs, Somanath has specialised in launch of vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics and procedures. He also specialised in mechanism design and pyrotechnics.
Somanath was also the team leader for first and second developmental flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project
Later, in 2012 to 2013, Somanath became the Deputy Director of VSSC’s Structures Entity. He was also the project director of GSLV Mk-III.
Somanath has secured a gold medal from IISc and Space Gold Medal Astronautical Society of India. In 2009, he received the performance excellence award from ISRO.
Under his leardership, the LVM3-X/CARE mission was successfully accomplished in 2014. The mission was the first experimental suborbital test flight of LVM3.
Somanath has also published many research papers related to his field. In 2022, Somanath will succeed K Sivan as the Chairman of ISRO.