Sreedhara Panicker Somanath (born July 1963), known as S. Somanath, is an Indian aerospace engineer who was chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from January 2022 to January 2025. A specialist in launch vehicles, he helped develop the PSLV and led the LVM3, India’s heaviest rocket. During his term as chairman, Chandrayaan-3 made India the first country to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole, on 23 August 2023.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Sreedhara Panicker Somanath |
| Born | July 1963, Thuravoor, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India |
| Age | 63 |
| Field | Aerospace engineering |
| Education | TKM College of Engineering, Kollam (B.Tech.); IISc Bangalore (M.E.); IIT Madras (Ph.D. 2024) |
| Office | Chairman of ISRO (2022–2025) |
| Known for | LVM3 rocket, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 |
Early Life
Somanath was born in Thuravoor in Kerala, where his father was a Hindi teacher who encouraged his interest in science. He studied mechanical engineering at TKM College of Engineering in Kollam and later earned a master’s in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, winning a gold medal.
Career
Somanath joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1985 and worked on the early flights of the PSLV. He became project director of the GSLV Mk III, now called LVM3, and saw it through its first experimental flight in 2014. He was director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre from 2015 and director of VSSC from 2018, succeeding K. Sivan in that post.
Somanath became ISRO chairman in January 2022. In July 2023 ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3, and on 23 August its lander, named Vikram after Vikram Sarabhai, touched down safely near the lunar south pole. The date is now celebrated as National Space Day. Ten days later ISRO launched Aditya-L1, India’s first mission to study the Sun. His term also saw the first flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, test flights for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and a space docking experiment. He was succeeded by V. Narayanan in January 2025.
Personal Life
Somanath is married to Valsala, and they have two children. He revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer on the day Aditya-L1 was launched and had recovered after surgery and treatment. He is fond of Malayalam literature and films.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When was S. Somanath born?
S. Somanath was born in July 1963, Thuravoor, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India.
What is S. Somanath known for?
Known for: LVM3 rocket, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1.
Featured image: S. Somanath, then director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, at the International Astronautical Congress, Washington, October 2019. Photo by Bill Ingalls, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
