Tue Jan 07 19:05:50 UTC 2025: ## ISRO Gets New Chairman: Dr. V. Narayanan Appointed Space Secretary
**Bengaluru, January 8, 2025** – Dr. V. Narayanan, currently the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at ISRO, has been appointed the new Secretary, Department of Space, and Chairman of the Space Commission. He will succeed S. Somanath, taking over on January 14th for a two-year term.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet announced the appointment, citing Dr. Narayanan’s extensive experience in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. A veteran ISRO scientist since 1984, he has held various key positions, contributing significantly to projects including the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLV Mk-II & GSLV Mk-III).
His expertise was crucial in analyzing the Chandrayaan-2 landing, identifying causes for the hard landing and recommending corrective actions. He also oversaw the successful delivery of all propulsion systems for the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Dr. Narayanan takes the reins from Somanath, who oversaw the highly successful Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 missions, as well as the first developmental flight of the Gaganyaan mission.
First Piper 