Former ISRO Chairman K. Kasturirangan Passes Away at 84 in Bengaluru

Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan passed away on Friday at his Bengaluru residence at 10:43 am, as confirmed by ISRO. The public will be able to pay their respects to the late scientist at the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 27, between 10 am and noon.

Kasturirangan served as the chairman of ISRO, the Space Commission, and the Department of Space for over nine years, stepping down on August 27, 2003. Widely regarded as the architect behind the National Education Policy (NEP), he played a pivotal role in educational reforms in India.

He also served as the Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Chairman of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission, and as a Rajya Sabha member from 2003 to 2009. In addition to his significant contributions to space science, he was the Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre, where he played a key role in developing INSAT-2, IRS-1A/1B, and India’s first earth observation satellites, Bhaskara I and II.

Under his leadership, major milestones such as the PSLV and GSLV launches were achieved. For his exceptional contributions, Kasturirangan was honored with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

An astrophysicist by training, his work in high-energy X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy was groundbreaking, particularly in studying cosmic X-ray sources, celestial gamma rays, and their impacts on Earth’s atmosphere.

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