Complete List Of ISRO Chairmen (1963-2024): Name, Tenure And Their Biggest Achievements

List Of ISRO Chairmen And Their Achievements:  Led by visionary leaders, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has taken India's space program to the world stage. Since its establishment, chairmen of ISRO have taken center stage as pioneers in space missions over the years with technological developments and scientific discoveries. From establishing the Indian Space Mission to achieving successful missions like Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan and satellite launches, each leader has contributed uniquely to the Indian Space Program.

On August 23, 2023, India made a successful landing on the south pole of the Moon with its Chadrayaan-3 mission, becoming the first country in the world to do so, under the leadership of S. Somnath. S. Somnath who is serving as the chairman of ISRO since 2022 is now retiring and Dr. V. Narayanan will be succeeding as a new Chairman of ISRO from January 24, 2025.

List of ISRO Chairman From 1963-2024 And Their Tenure

Here is the complete list of ISRO chairmen, their names and tenure. Also, take a look at each one’s biggest achievements during their tenure.

Name	Starting Term	Ending Term	Total Tenure
Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai	1963	1971	8 years
Prof M G K Menon	January 1972	September 1972	9 months
Prof Satish Dhawan	1973	1984	12 years
Prof U R Rao	1984	1994	10 years
Dr. K Kasturirangan	1994	27 August 2003	9 year
Dr G Madhavan Nair	1 September 2003	29 October 2009	6 years, 58 days
Dr K Radhakrishnan	30 October 2009	11 December 2014	5 years, 62 days
Shri AS Kiran Kumar	14 January 2015	14 January 2018	3 years
Dr. K. Sivan	15 January 2018	15 January 2022	4 years
S. Somnath	15 January 2022	14 January 2024	3 years
Dr. V Narayan	From  January 14, 2025	Will continue

Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai (1963–1971)

       ISRO chairmen list and tenure (Image:Instagram/@Isro)

Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai is known as the father of the Indian Space Program. He joined ISRO in 1963 and made a huge contribution to the Indian space mission till 1971. He initiated the development of space technology, laying the foundation for more missions in the future.

Prof M G K Menon (1972)

Prof. Menon became ISRO in charge only for a short period, but he played a vital role in providing advanced direction to India's satellite technology, contributing significantly to Indian space technology.

Prof Satish Dhawan (1972–1984)

Professor Satish Dhawan was the Director of ISRO between 1972 and 1984. Under his leadership, ISro achieved the successful launch of the SLV-3, India's first satellite Rohini into orbit in 1980.

Prof U R Rao (1984–1994)

Under the leadership of Professor Rao, the INSAT satellites were developed and launched during the period 1984-94, thus extending India's communications, broadcasting, and meteorological services to the fullest.

Dr. K Kasturirangan (1994–2003)

Dr. Kasturirangan was in charge of developing the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project. This become a reliable workhorse for launching satellites into polar orbits.

Dr G Madhavan Nair (2003–2009)

Under his leadership, ISRO accomplished the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008, which marked India's first successful lunar mission that discovered water molecules on the moon's surface.

Dr K Radhakrishnan (2009–2014)

Dr. Radhakrishnan led ISRO in the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) in 2013, making India the first country to succeed in its maiden attempt to reach Mars.

Shri AS Kiran Kumar (2015–2018)

ISRO, under the leadership of Dr. Kiran Kumar, launched the PSLV-C37 mission in the year 2017, in which an astonishing 104 satellites were launched into space in the same flight.

Dr. K. Sivan (2018–2022)

Dr. Sivan handled the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019, which aims to explore the lunar south pole, and launched the preparation for the Gaganyaan mission, India's first crewed spaceflight program.

S. Somnath (2022–2025)

          Chandrayaan-3 mission (Image:Instagram/@Isro)

Under the chairmanship of S. Somanath, ISRO accomplished the Chandrayaan-3 mission with a soft landing on the lunar surface of the south pole on August 23, 2023, and continued its research on lunar exploration.

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