Shailesh Nayak takes over as ISRO chief as K Radhakrishnan retires

Shailesh Nayak, a geologist and secretary in the earth sciences ministry, will assume temporary charge of the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) with incumbent chief K Radhakrishnan's term expiring on Wednesday.

The department of personnel and training said Nayak would be in charge for about a month after which a regular appointment would be done for the post.

Nayak a graduate from the Kerala University, later did his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Although Nayak is no outsider in Isro, his earlier positions have all been in connection with research on applications and not really building rockets or spacecraft

Senior scientists like AS Kiran Kumar, director, Isro Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, and MYS Prasad, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, were in contention for the post.

Nayak takes over from K Radhakrishnan who was appointed chairman of ISRO on the 31st of October in the year 2009.

However, only a year from his mission control room in Shriharikota, Radhakrishnan watched in horror as the GSLV-F06 (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle)  carrying the satellite GSAT - 5P exploded in mid air just minutes following launch.

It was one of the worst failures in space science for India.

However, the failure only steeled his resolve as he worked harder and only a few years down the line to end his career in the glow of his crowning achievement, the Mars Orbiter.

India made space history on 24 September 2014 when the low-cost Mars spacecraft was successfully placed in orbit around the Red Planet in its very first attempt, gaining an entry for India into an elite club of three nations.

The Rs450-crore MOM Mangalyaan was the cheapest inter-planetary mission that, at just $74 million, costing less than the estimated $100 million budget of the sci-fi blockbuster "Gravity". It also cost a tenth of NASA's Mars mission Maven that entered the Martian orbit on 22 September.

The mission boosted India's global standing in space. Time magazine described Mangalyaan as among the best inventions of 2014. According to Time, the technological feat would allow India to flex its "interplanetary muscles".

Radhakrishnan as ISRO chief, secretary of Department of Space and chairman of Space Commission, was given a four months extension in August this year till 31 December 2014 on "functional grounds and in public interest".

Radhakrishnan, a Padma Bhushan recipient, the third highest civilian award, was recently named one of the top 10 scientific personalities in 2014 by Nature Science Journal.