K. Sivan - ISRO Chief: 38 Years Of Dedication And Contributions To Make India Proud

The Indian Space Research Organization celebrated its 50th birthday last year, which also marked the 38th year of Kailasavadivoo Sivan at the national space agency. And today, March 14, 2020, is the 63rd birthday of the amazing man that has been doing everything in his knowledge, capabilities, and power to bring India further into space, competing with other developed countries like the US and China. How did he do that?

Kailasavadivoo Sivan: From a farmer’s son to the Chief of ISRO

K Sivan comes from Tarakkanvilai, Kanyakumari district. He was born from an ordinary family to a farmer father. He was also the first one to graduate in this family.

His uncle, A Shunmagavel, said that K Sivan was a self-made, hard-working, studious student. Sivan went to state schools in his native village and then at neighboring Valangumaravilai in Tamil medium. In his early twenties, he graduated from ST Hindu College.

In 1980, Sivan graduated from the Madras Institute of Technology majoring in aeronautical engineering. In 1982, he got a Master's degree in Engineering in Aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science. In 2006, he got his doctorate in Aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

In 1982, K Sivan joined ISRO, working on the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) project. He made immense contributions to mission planning, design, integration, as well as analysis. Sivan was responsible for various tasks in his first stint at the space agency.

In July 2014, he was appointed the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at ISRO. In June 2015, was made the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. In January 2018, he became the chief of the Indian Space Research Organization.

Kailasavadivoo Sivan contributions

Though he has been working as ISRO Chief for just over two years, K Sivan has dedicated almost four decades of his life to the space agency and has won the heart of many Indians.

Over the past 38 years, Sivan worked in several successful projects of ISRO, which include GSLV and PSLV projects. He is a member of the Systems Society of India, Aeronautical Society of India, Indian Systems Society for Science and Engineering and Indian National Academy of Engineering. Besides, he is the Secretary of Department of Space as well as Chairman of the Space Commission. In 2017, India set a world record was we launched 104 satellites into space and that couldn’t have happened without the important work of Sivan.

Under the leadership of K Sivan, ISRO has been keeping on track with its work to bring Indian missions further to outer space, making us all proud. One of the most important projects that Sivan has created for the country is the Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission, which was launched in 2019. Though the mission wasn’t considered a successful one due to a failed soft landing, I personally think it is a success. The mission was so close to making India the fourth country in the world to land on the Moon, just after Russia, the US, and China.

And though the landing didn’t end up as planned, part of the mission is still in operation and keeps sending data back to Earth. The most worth noting thing is the fact that this mission didn’t go well doesn’t stop our chief at all. Right after the failed landing and amid efforts to locate the lander, K Sivan went on for the next planned missions. This may seem normal for a leader at a high position as himself, the spirit is admirable and exactly what represents the country. We do not give up, we learn the lesson, move forward, and hold on to our big dreams, and dream even bigger.

Also under the leadership of K Sivan, India is being able to make cheaper rockets, spending less money than granted instead of going ver budget. This is really important because making cheaper missions means we will be able to launch more missions or spend the spare money for research and development to improve our future rockets, landers, rovers, etc.

Kailasavadivoo Sivan achievements

In 2019, K Sivan got his Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award.

In 2020, he got the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal.

Kailasavadivoo Sivan is the man of brilliance, hard work, and honor. One of the most impressive things to me about Sivan is an incident that happened several months ago. When the Chandrayaan-2 mission didn’t land successfully and ISRO lost contact with the lander, he made a public apology for the accident. Although we all know it’s not easy for such a mission to achieve easy success and the mission already had a successful launch, Sivan taking the responsibility all to himself showed how much honorable and passionate he is. And as Indians, we are one and we support our chief to keep making us proud.

Happy birthday and keep up the great work, Sir!