New Delhi, July 17:
Former ISRO chairman Dr Somanath S has joined Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos as an observer on its board of directors, the company announced on Thursday.
Somanath, who served as ISRO chairman till January 2025, oversaw several landmark missions, including the successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing near the Moon’s south pole and the launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory.
His appointment has come as Agnikul prepares for Mission 02, a flight that will attempt the recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster and the extension of a rocket’s upper stage into an on-orbit platform.
“Mission 02 is a genuine technical frontier, for India and, in several respects, for the world. The convertible upper stage concept, combined with indigenous semi-cryogenic propulsion and a 3D-printed engine that can be produced in days, is a coherent and defensible technical strategy,” Somanath said in a statement.