Krishnaswami Kasturirangan

Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan () is a space scientist based in Bangalore, Karnataka who headed the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for more than 9 years until 2003. He was a Member in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha,2003–2009) of the Indian Parliament. He is now a Member of the Planning Commission of Government of India, He is also the Chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission . He is also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, since April 2004. He is a recipient of the three civilian awards from the Government of India: the Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).

Key contributions

Dr. Kasturirangan was responsible for directing the Indian Space programme for over 9 years, as Chairman of ISRO and the Space Commission and as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, before laying down office on 27 August 2003. He was earlier the Director of ISRO Satellite Centre, overseeing the development of new generation spacecraft, the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-2) and the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS-1A and 1B) as well as scientific satellites. He was also the Project Director for India's first two experimental earth observation satellites, Bhaskara-I and II.

Under his leadership, the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launching and operationalisation of the India's prestigious launch vehicles, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and...
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