Farmers son to ISRO chief: Inspiring life of K Sivan

New Delhi, Sep 07: ISRO's Chandrayaan 2, which has been touted to be India's most ambitious moon mission to date, faced a setback when the Vikram lander lost contact with ISRO's scientists when it was barely 2.1 km away from the lunar surface.

Encouraging those behind Chandrayaan 2, Prime Minister Modi said that "there will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon".

"I have come here to get inspired by you. You are a sea of inspiration...Science is never satisfied with results, its inherent virtue is making efforts," said the Prime Minister. He said that the need of the hour was for the scientists to "cover more ground".

Just like what PM Modi said, the life of K Sivan, who spearheaded India's latest moon mission, is a man of inspiration.

On a day when India stands united with ISRO, we bring you the awe-inspiring journey of K Sivan. From paddy farms to the top of ISRO, his career is pure example of grit and determination.

A humble son of a farmer who studied in local government schools in Tamil medium at Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, to the man who spearheaded India's latest moon mission, K Sivan's life is a pure example of grit and determination.

Sivan graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering in 1980 and completed Master of Engineering in Aerospace engineering from IISc, Bangalore in 1982.

Subsequently, he completed his PhD in Aerospace engineering from IIT, Bombay in 2006.

He joined ISRO in 1982 in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project and contributed immensely towards end to end mission planning, mission design, mission integration and analysis. He held various responsibilities during his stint in ISRO.

Dr Sivan joined GSLV Project in April 2011 as Project Director. Under his leadership, GSLV with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage achieved historical success on January 05, 2014.

During his career at ISRO, Dr Sivan held many responsible positions like Project Director, RLV-TD; Deputy Director, VSSC; Project Director, GSLV and Director, LPSC.

He has numerous publications to his credit and is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, Aeronautical Society of India and Systems Society of India.

Sivan is responsible for ISRO's 104 satellite launch in a single mission.

After being appointed ISRO Chairman in 2018, his maiden flight failed- the first PSLV failure in 24 years.

However, his accomplishments surpass his defeats. Sivan is attributed to the successful launch of 104 satellites in a single PSLV mission in February'17.

He designed strategies for launching India's MARS mission and also implemented a strategy, which has made possible rocket launch on any day of the year.

He has received various awards throughout his career, including Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014 and Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr Vikram Sarabhai Research award for 1999.