Dr. S. Somanath | |
---|---|
10th Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation | |
Assumed office 15 January 2022 | |
Preceded by | K. Sivan |
Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre | |
In office 24 January 2018 –14 January 2022 | |
Preceded by | K. Sivan |
Succeeded by | S. Unnikrishnan Nair [1] |
Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre | |
In office 1 January 2015 –23 January 2018 | |
Preceded by | K. Sivan |
Succeeded by | V. Narayanan |
Personal details | |
Born | July 1963 (age 61) Thuravoor,Cherthala,Kerala,India |
Spouse | Valsalakumari |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering (B.Tech.,Mechanical Engineering). Indian Institute of Science,Bengaluru (M.Tech.,Aerospace Engineering). ContentsIndian Institute of technology,Madras (PhD) |
Dr. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath (born July 1963) is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). [2] Under his chairmanship,ISRO carried out the third Indian lunar exploration mission named Chandrayaan-3. The lander named Vikram and the rover named Pragyan landed near the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST,making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon. [3] [4] [5] [6] This landing gained India a proud history.
Somanath served as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,Thiruvananthapuram and director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre,Thiruvananthapuram. [7] [8] Somanath is known for his contributions to launch vehicle design,particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering,structural design,structural dynamics,and pyrotechnics. [9] [10]
Somanath was born in a Malayali family [11] as child of V. Sreedhara Panicker,a Hindi teacher,and Thankamma at Thuravoor in Alappuzha district of Kerala. [12]
Somanath did his schooling at St. Augustine's High School,Aroor and completed his pre-university program from Maharaja's College,Ernakulam. He received his graduate degree in mechanical engineering from Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering,Kollam,Kerala University and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore with specialization in dynamics and control. He has been awarded a Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). [13]
Somanath is married to Valsala,and has a daughter and a son. [14]
After his graduation,Somanath joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in 1985. He was associated with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle project during its initial phase. He became associate director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the project director of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III launch vehicle in 2010. He was also the deputy director of the Propulsion and Space Ordnance Entity till November 2014. [9]
In June 2015,he took over as director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Valiamala,Thiruvananthapuram and served until January 2018. Somanath took over as director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre from K. Sivan who became chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation. In January 2022,he took over as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation,again succeeding K. Sivan.
In recognition of his contributions to the field of science,Somanath was awarded a Doctorate of Science (Honoris Causa) on 25 September by SRM Institute of Science and Technology,Tamil Nadu,on the occasion of the 18th Annual Convocation. [15] [16] On 23 August 2023,he as ISRO chairman spearheaded the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the South Pole of the lunar surface along with other notable senior ISRO scientists.
Somanath earned his PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras and was awarded his doctorate during the institute's 61st convocation on July 19,2024. [17] [18]
Uttarakhand Technical University conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.) on him during its 7th convocation held on 10 October 2023. [19]
In 2014,S Somnath received performance excellence award for GSLV Mk-III realization from ISRO. [20] [21] [22] In 2023,the Government of Karnataka felicitated him with the prestigious Rajyotsava award. [23] [24] K.P.P Nambiar Award in Feb 2024.
Indian Space Research Organisation is India's national space agency. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS),overseen by the Prime Minister of India,with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations,space exploration,international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. The agency maintains a constellation of imaging,communication and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Often regarded as the "Father of Indian space program",Sarabhai was honored with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) in 1972.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Trivandrum,in the Indian state of Kerala.
Mylswamy Annadurai is an Indian scientist working as vice president for Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology,Chairman,Board of Governors,National Design and Research Forum. He is often dubbed as the "Moon Man of India".
G. Madhavan Nair is an Indian space scientist and a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation,and Secretary to the Department of Space,Government of India. His tenure saw commencement of Indian Human Spaceflight Programme and launch of extraterrestrial exploration mission Chandrayaan-I.
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Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after Chandrayaan-1. It consists of a lunar orbiter,the Vikram lunar lander,and the Pragyan rover,all of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition,as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation is the statutory head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The officeholder is a secretary to the Government of India and an executive of the Department of Space (DOS) which directly reports to the prime minister of India.
K. Radhakrishnan a.k.a Koppillil Radhakrishnan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as Chairman of Space Commission,Secretary of the Department of Space,Government of India. Under his leadership,India became the first country to reach Mars in its first attempt.
Thekkethil Kochandy Alex is an Indian space scientist. He was the director of the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (2008–2012) and Member,Space Commission. He specialized in electro-optic systems and satellite technology. Starting with the first Indian satellite Aryabhata,he has been responsible for the sensor systems in all the Indian satellites. Under his leadership the Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems (LEOS) was established in 1993 and from the inception he was its director till 2008. He was conferred "Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professorship" in 2011.
Parivakkam Subramaniam Veeraraghavan is a well known space scientist and rocket technologist of India. He has served as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC),Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala and as the Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU),Thiruvananthapuram. One of the most senior scientists at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO),Veeraraghavan is known for his contributions to launch vehicle technology,especially in the areas of integration &checkout and Inertial Systems of ISROs launch vehicles. Presently,he is holding the honorary position of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor in VSSC,ISRO since January 2013.
Vipparthi Adimurthy is the ISRO Honorary Distinguished Professor,VSSC. He was the former Satish Dhawan Professor and Dean of Research at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Prior to joining IIST,Adimurthy held the post of associate director at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,a major facility center of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is known for his contributions to the rocket technology and space dynamics. He is a recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India. Murthy is the Mission Concept Designer,for India's Mars Orbiter Mission.
The Chandrayaan programme also known as the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme is an ongoing series of outer space missions by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the exploration of the Moon. The program incorporates a lunar orbiter,an impactor,a soft lander and a rover spacecraft.
Mars Lander Mission(MLM) or Mangalyaan-2,is a proposed second mission to Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Sivan Kailasavadivu is an Indian aerospace engineer who served as the Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) and Space Commission. He has previously served as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-3,a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Chandrayaan-3 is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme,a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August,and India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole,at 69°S,the southernmost lunar landing on 23 August 2023 at 18:03 IST,made ISRO the fourth space agency to successfully land on the Moon,after USSR,NASA and the CNSA.
The Indian Orbital Space Station,officially called,Bharatiya Antariksha Station,is a planned modular space station to be constructed by India and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The space station would weigh 52 tonnes and maintain an orbit of approximately 400 kilometres above the Earth,where astronauts could stay for 3-6 months. Originally planned to be completed by 2030,it was later postponed to 2035 due to delays caused by technical issues related with the Gaganyaan crewed spaceflight mission and the COVID-19 pandemic in India. As of December 2023,the first module is expected to be launched in 2028 on an LVM3 launch vehicle,with the remaining modules to be launched by 2035 on the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (Soorya).
Statio Shiv Shakti or Shiv Shakti Point is the landing site of Chandrayaan-3,the third lunar mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission's lander Vikram and rover Pragyan landed 600 km from the south pole of the Moon on 23 August 2023. The landing site was named on 26 August 2023 at the ISTRAC headquarters in Bengaluru,after India became the fourth nation to make a successful soft landing on the Moon and also becoming the first country that landed on the lunar south pole. Statio Shiv Shakti is located at the coordinates 69.373°S 32.319°E and lies between the lunar craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N. It has been proposed that the upcoming sample-return mission Chandrayaan-4 also land near the point.
Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-2,a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The rover was launched as part of Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July 2019 and was destroyed with its lander,Vikram,when it crashed on the Moon on 6 September 2019.