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S. Somanath Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

S. Somanath

Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the tenth chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He has held several key positions at ISRO including the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) as its Director, and the Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity as Deputy Director. ISRO has successfully carried out several space missions under his chairmanship, including the third Indian lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-3.

Wiki/Biography

S. Somanath was born in July 1963 (age 61 years; as of 2024) in a Malayali Nair family in Thuravoor, Alappuzha District of Kerala, India. He completed his schooling at St Augustine’s School, Aroor, Kerala. In 1978, he pursued a two-year provisional degree certificate program in Maths and Physics at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, Kerala. In 1985, he earned his Bachelor in Technology (B.Tech) degree in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala University. From 1994 to 1995, he pursued a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, specializing in Structures, Dynamics, and Control at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. In 2008, he attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras to pursue PhD in Mechanical Engineering. ((LinkedIn))

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

S Somanath with President Droupadi Murmu

S Somanath with President of India Droupadi Murmu

Family

Parents & Siblings 

Somanath’s father’s name is V. Sreedhara Panicker who was a Hindi teacher. His mother’s name is Thankamma. His maternal uncle’s name is C.K. Thankappan Nair.

S. Somanath’s parents

Somanath’s parents, V. Sreedhara Panicker and Thankamma

C.K. Thankappan Nair

C.K. Thankappan Nair, S. Somanath’s maternal uncle

Wife & Children 

Somanath is married to Valsalakumari who works with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department under the charge of the Ministry of Finance. The couple has two children, a son and a daughter named Madhav and Malika. Both have completed their Post Graduation in Engineering.

S. Somanath with wife, Valsala, daughter Malika and son Madhav

S. Somanath with wife, Valsala, daughter Malika and son Madhav

Career

ISRO

PSLV-D1

G. Madhavan Nair, PSLV-D1 vehicle director R.V. Perumal, launch vehicle programme office director D. Narayanamoorthy and S. Somanath.

In 1985, after completing his graduation, he joined ISRO at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). He led the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project as the Project manager from 1995 to 2002. He became the Project Director of GSLV MK3 in 2010 and accomplished the first development flight LVM3 X – CARE mission on 18 December 2014. He served jointly as the Deputy Director of Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity and Associate Director of various projects till November 2014. In June 2015, he was appointed as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram and served until December 2017. He served as the thirteenth Director at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) from 24 January 2018 till 14 January 2022. ((Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre)) S. Somanath took over from Dr K Sivan as the tenth chief of ISRO on 12 January 2022. He was appointed by the Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). On 14 Jan 2022, he assumed the position of Secretary at the Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission. ((ISRO Department of Space)) ((LinkedIn))

Launch Vehicles 

successful soft-landing Chandrayaan-3

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath with others after the successful soft-landing Chandrayaan-3 Lander Vikram on the surface of Moon during Chandrayaan-3 Mission, at ISRO

S. Somanath’s expertise lies in the area of system engineering of Launch vehicles. As the Project manager, he contributed to the propulsion stages design, structural and structural dynamics designs, separation systems, vehicle integration, and integration procedures development of the PSLV and GSLV MkIII. ((ISRO Department of Space)) While serving as the Director at LPSC, he led the development team of GSLV Mk-III D1 flight. ((ISRO Department of Space)) In the coming years, he led several important development activities including the throttleable engines for lander craft of Chanradrayaan-2, launch of 50th PSLV, Pad Abort Test (PAT), the first-time successful flight of 18mN thrust electric propulsion system in GSAT-9, and 75mN and 300mN thrust Stationary Plasma thrusters. For the upcoming Gaganyaan mission, he spearheaded the development of critical systems including crew module systems, human rating of GSLV Mk-III, and integrated vehicle health monitoring system. ((ISRO Department of Space)) He also leads the development of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). At the inauguration ceremony of the India Space Congress on July 2023, he announced,

We have built our own SSLV which will be transferred to the industry and produced in large numbers to meet the growing demand,” ((The Economic Times))

Chandrayaan-3 

On 23 August 2023, a team of ISRO scientists led by S. Somanath successfully executed the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander on the moon’s south pole.

We have achieved a soft landing on the moon. India is on the moon. This is not the work of us alone, this is the work of a generation of ISRO scientists,” – Sreedhara Panicker Somanath on the success of Mangalyaan

PSLV-C58 XPoSat 

PSLV-C58 XPoSat

S. Somanath led the launch of ISRO’s maiden X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite, PSLV-C58 XPoSat mission from Sriharikota on 1 January 2024. It will analyse the polarisation of X-rays emitted from bright celestial sources in the medium frequency band. After the launch of the PSLV-C58 XPoSat mission, Somanath addressed the team members,

He further highlighted,

He also highlighted the collaboration of ISRO with various institutions to develop space missions,

He also talked about the upcoming missions,

Awards, Honours, Achievements

  • He is a recipient of the “Space Gold Medal” from the Astronautical Society of India.
  • He has won the ‘Merit Award” and ‘Performance Excellence Award’ from ISRO.
  • He has also won the ‘Team Excellence Award’ for GSLV Mk-III development from ISRO.
  • He has multiple Fellowships including the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), and the Astronautical Society of India (ASI).
  • He is a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
  • He is a member of the bureau of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
  • In 2009, he received the Performance Excellence Award from ISRO.
  • In July 2018, he received an honorary doctorate from Satyabhama University Chennai.
  • In October 2019, he won the National Aeronautics Prize from the Aeronautical Society of India.
  • In October 2020, he received an honorary doctorate from Centurion University Bhubaneswar.
  • He earned a Gold Medal in Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
  • On 1 November 2023, he was honoured with the second highest civilian honour of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Prashasti (the Rajyotsava Awards) at the 68th Karnataka Rajyotsava.

Facts/Trivia

  • He achieved the post of ISRO Chairman in 2022. He is the 4th Malyali to do so. The Chief Minister of Kerala congratulated him.
  • Somanath’s father encouraged him to pursue his passion for science and despite being a Hindi teacher, brought him science books in both English and Malayalam languages.
  • He got a national merit scholarship for his class 10th results.
  • On 25 November 2022, he inaugurated the first private launchpad and mission control centre on the ISRO campus.
  • In an interview, he shared the memory of his early days at VSSC. When asked where he wanted to work, he said, “where something is happening,” and was sent to the PSLV project.
  • Despite being unguided and underequipped, his PSLV batch made mechanical integration into a core engineering domain.
  • When asked in an interview about his team agenda, he noted,
    There is no need to push people. I think it is a wrong management tactic. The best way is to inspire people. Pushing people to do things is not a sustainable model. The right model is to give them power. Empower them. My bosses, especially S. Ramakrishnan―who was my boss for 20 years―did the same to me. So, I would like to do the same to others.”
  • On 23 December 2023, he confirmed that India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1 would reach the destination on 6 January 2024. ((The Economic Times)) Aditya L1 successful launch
  • He is an avid fan of cinema and has joined a film society in Thiruvananthapuram.

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