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A. Rajarajan
Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Arumugham Rajarajan is an Indian aerospace engineer and senior scientist with ISRO. He is serving as Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the lead ISRO centre responsible for the development of launch vehicles.[1][2] He assumed charge on 1 August 2025.[3]
Rajarajan earlier served as Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), ISRO’s primary spaceport at Sriharikota, where he was responsible for launch operations, range management, and infrastructure development supporting national and commercial missions.[4][5]
He has been described in reporting as a composites specialist and a key contributor to launch vehicle programmes, including PSLV, GSLV and LVM3.[6]
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Early career
Publicly available sources indicate that Rajarajan joined ISRO in 1987.[7] His early work focused on structural engineering, composites, and spacecraft structures, contributing to qualification testing and development work for ISRO’s launch vehicle systems.[2]
Career
Indian Space Research Organisation
Over his career, Rajarajan has worked in areas including structural design, composite materials, stage integration, mission readiness and launch operations. Reporting links him to major vehicle programmes including PSLV, GSLV and LVM3.[8]
Director, SDSC SHAR
As Director of SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota, Rajarajan oversaw launch operations, modernisation of ground infrastructure and activities supporting commercial launch services.[9]
During this tenure, he was publicly associated with major launches including Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 through coverage of ISRO’s Malayali and South Indian scientific leadership.[10]
Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
Rajarajan took charge as Director of VSSC on 1 August 2025, succeeding S. Unnikrishnan Nair.[1] In this role, he leads development and qualification of ISRO’s launch vehicle fleet, advanced propulsion systems, composite structures and human-rated vehicle initiatives.[11]
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Contributions
Independent reporting highlights:
Other roles
Rajarajan has been referenced in reporting related to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and other institutional mechanisms supporting India’s commercial space sector.[13]
Honours
He was awarded an honorary doctorate (Honoris Causa) by Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology.[14]
References
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