Isro Satellite Centre gets new director
S K Shivakumar, scientist and associate director, of Isro Satellite Centre (Isac), Bangalore, on Saturday took over as the director of the centre, replacing T K Alex. Isac is Indian Space Research Organisation's premier centre for conceptualisation, design, fabrication, testing, integration and in-orbit commissioning of satellite systems involving various cutting-edge technologies.
Shivakumar began his carrier in Isro by joining Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in 1976 at Sriharikota and later served Isac for two decades (1978-1998) during which he was involved in mission planning, analysis and operations of several Indian satellite missions including Bhaskara, APPLE, IRS and Insat. He served as mission director for IRS-1B and IRS-1C satellites which successfully completed a decade of operations in orbit.
From September 1998 to November 2010, Shivakumar was director, Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac), which maintains the large constellation of Indian remote sensing satellites in orbit and provides support to satellite launch vehicle missions with a worldwide network of ground stations.
Shivakumar was also the project director for realising India's first indigenous deep space network antenna that measures 32 meters (100 feet) in diameter at Byalalu near Bangalore. This antenna was used for communicating with Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the moon, and will also serve future deep space missions. Besides, he played a key role in realising the entire ground segment for Chandrayaan-1 mission including the Indian Space Science Data Centre at Byalalu.
An postgraduate in physical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Shivakumar has represented Isro in several national and international committees, advisory groups and conferences, including United Nations Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space, Vienna, Inter-Operability Plenary and Inter-agency Operations Advisory Group. His current research interests are in the areas of highly capable space systems, autonomy in space systems and large antenna systems.
Isro Satellite Centre gets new director - The Times of India