Arumugham Rajarajan is an Indian aerospace engineer and scientist with the ISRO. He is serving as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), one of the major centre of ISRO responsible for the development of launch vehicles.[1][2] He assumed charge on 1 August 2025.[3]
Rajarajan earlier served as the Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), ISRO’s primary spaceport at Sriharikota.[4][5]
He known for his expertise as a composites specialist and a key contributor to launch vehicle programmes, including PSLV, GSLV and LVM3.[6]
Early career
Rajarajan joined ISRO in 1987.[7] His early work primarly focused on structural engineering, composites, spacecraft structures, and ISRO’s launch vehicle systems.[2]
Career
Indian Space Research Organisation
Over his career with ISRO, Rajarajan has worked in areas such as structural design, composite materials, stage integration, mission readiness and launch operations. He also played critical roles in ISRO's various launch vehicle programmes including PSLV, GSLV and LVM3.[8]
Director, SDSC SHAR
As Director of SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota, Rajarajan looked after the launch operations, modernisation of ground infrastructure and activities supporting commercial launch services.[9] During this tenure as Director, he was associated with major missions including Aditya L1, Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 .[10]
Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
Rajarajan assumed charge as the Director of VSSC on 1 August 2025, succeeding Dr S. Unnikrishnan Nair.[1] In his present role, he leads the centre in the development and qualification of ISRO’s launch vehicle fleet, advanced propulsion systems, composite structures and human-rated vehicle initiatives.[11]
Rajarajan also associated with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and other institutional mechanisms supporting India’s commercial space sector.[13]
Honours
He was awarded an honorary doctorate (Honoris Causa) by Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology.[14]
↑"Honoris Causa". Sathyabama University. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
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