ISRO Chief gets Kalam award for success of Spadex, Axiom, NISAR missions and for critical space system support for successful Op Sindoor

United News of India

3 days ago

Chennai, Aug 15 (UNI) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman and Secretary,
Department of Space Dr V Narayanan was today presented the former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam award by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for the successful Spadex and NISAR missions and for the critical space system support by ISRO for the recent successful 'Operation Sindoor', which was one of the major achievements under his able leadership.
Dr. Narayanan, in his brief tenure as DOS Secretary, has proven his visionary leadership with several achievements.
They included the 100th launch from SHAR Range the successful completion of Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX) mission making India the fourth country in the world to achieve this, and the successful completion of Axiom mission wherein the second Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla travelled to International Space Station and brought back safely.
Dr Narayanan led a high-level delegation which was instrumental in insisting and correcting the
Liquid Oxygen leakage in the Falcon-9 vehicle and ensuring safety of the four astronauts onboard
Axiom-4 mission including Shubhanshu Shukla from India which otherwise would have led to
catastrophic failure.
The award was also to hail the recent successful launch of the prestigious and technologically complex NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Spacecraft using GSLV vehicle.
The critical space system support by ISRO for the recent successful 'Operation Sindoor' by India was one of the major achievements under his able leadership, the Government said.
He is also spearheading the complex cutting edge technology developments feeding to national missions like Gaganyaan programme, Chandrayaan-4 and 5, Venus Orbiter Mission, Bharathiya Anthariksh Station, Next Generation Launch Vehicle and many more including an Indian astronaut landing on the moon and returning safely.
Dr. Narayanan, in his illustrious career, has been honoured with more than 35 most prestigious
awards including Distinguished Alumni Award and Life Fellowship Award from IIT, Kharagpur, Gold
Medal from Astronautical Society of India (ASI).
He is a Member and Fellow of a large number of prestigious National and International Scientific and Technical forums.
Born in a small village Melakattuvilai in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Narayanan was a brilliant student throughout his academic career.
He studied in Tamil Nadu Government School and completed Diploma in Mechanical Engineering
from Government. Polytechnic, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. Later, he obtained M.Tech. in Cryogenic
Engineering with a silver medal and first rank and Ph.D. from IIT, Kharagpur.
Dr. Narayanan was appointed as Secretary, DoS and Chairman, ISRO and Chairman, Space Commission in recognition of his distinguished career in ISRO spanning 41 years with multiple
key leadership roles including the post of Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO
for seven years.
He pioneered in the propulsion systems of rockets and satellites for ISRO, working in critical and cutting edge technologies of propulsion systems, and realisation of large infrastructure.
As a propulsion system technocrat, his professional career is studded with several major achievements like leading the Cryogenic propulsion realisation and stage development for
India's self-reliance in launch vehicle technology making it one amongst the six countries having
this technology.
As a Project Director, instrumental in development of C25 Cryogenic Stage for LVM3 launch vehicle and obtained three world records.
He was responsible for successful completion of development of Cryogenic Propulsion System from
engine hot test to successful flight in 28 months with only 3 engines.
Dr. Narayanan's key contributions to pan-ISRO activities include his leadership in development of propulsion systems for launch vehicles and spacecraft of Chandrayaan-2 and 3 missions including the development of throttleable propulsion system for soft landing of Lander and Rover of Chandrayaan-3.
After the unsuccessful landing attempt of Chandrayaan-2, he was appointed as the Chairman of the National Level Expert Committee to analyse the reason for the setback.
Under his Chairmanship, this committee made critical recommendations for improvement which resulted in the resounding success of Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Similarly, he has played a major role in various other national missions like Aditya L1, One Web
India missions, etc., and was instrumental in drafting the road maps of Space Transportation
Systems of ISRO as the Chairman of Space Transportation System (STS) Programme Management Council.
Dr. Narayanan is striving to provide techno-managerial leadership for achieving excellence in
Space Transportation, Infrastructure and Space applications benefitting common citizens of our
country as well as creating and nurturing a vibrant space eco-system in India.
UNI GV 1425