Composites Expert Dr. A. Rajarajan Appointed as Director of VSSC, Takes Charge on August 1, 2025.

On 1 August 2025, veteran ISRO scientist Dr. A. Rajarajan assumed office as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. He succeeded Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, who retired on 31 July 2025, and took over leadership of one of India’s premier launch vehicle development centres.

      - With nearly four decades of experience, Rajarajan is widely recognized as Australia’s—and arguably the world’s—pre‑eminent expert in space-grade composites. His pioneering work includes design and production of high-temperature carbon–carbon structures, 5 m diameter payload fairings, and solar panel substrates, significantly enhancing India's indigenous launch‑vehicle capabilities.

      - From July 2019 until his VSSC appointment, Rajarajan served as Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota). He oversaw solid‑motor production, launch complex expansion, and facilitated major Earth‑ and space‑ mission infrastructures including Chandrayaan‑3, Aditya‑L1, SSLV, and the maiden commercial flight LVM3-M2/OneWeb India‑1. He was also instrumental in launching India’s first private rocket, Vikram‑S, implemented under India’s New Space Policy.

      - Dr. Rajarajan began his career in 1987 at VSSC’s Fibre‑Reinforced Plastic (FRP) division. Over the years, he held senior roles across Composites, Structures, and Propulsion Ordinance Entities, leading to the indigenization of critical supporting systems (payload adaptors, intertank structures) across PSLV, GSLV‑MkIII, RLV‑TD, and HSP programmes.

Main Point :-   (i) At VSSC, he helped forge strong public–private partnerships in composite manufacturing and space components. Dr. Rajarajan is the President of the Indian Society for Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (ISAMPE) since November 2023, and has championed technology transfer to industry for scalable production of launch‑ready components.

      (ii) As VSSC Director, Rajarajan inherits responsibility for leading the centre’s thrust areas: reusable launch technology, human spaceflight support (Gaganyaan), air‑breathing propulsion, and composite‑intensive next‑generation launch vehicles. His appointment reinforces ISRO’s drive toward self‑reliant space systems.

(iii) Dr. Rajarajan takes charge at a pivotal junction for Indian space; his leadership is expected to accelerate spaceport modernization, mission readiness, and indigenization priorities. The appointment underscores ISRO’s confidence in core scientific expertise to guide the nation’s space ambitions.