ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan was addressing the audience during the release of the Kannada translation of the biography of renowned space scientist BN Suresh at Shivamogga on Saturday. | Photo credit: SK Dinesh
Shivamogga
Indian Space Research Organization Chairman V Narayanan on Saturday highlighted the contribution of space scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee BN Suresh to the Indian space programme, saying that he has been mentored and guided by Mr Suresh throughout his career.”
Mr Narayanan was speaking at Shivamogga after releasing the Kannada translation of Suresh’s biography ‘Onto a Rocket Ship’. Originally written by Sunil Suresh, the book was translated into Kannada by Turuvanoor Mallikarjun, a faculty member of the Jnanadeepa School in Shivamogga.
Mr. Narayanan said ISRO has made India proud with its many achievements in the last six decades. Suresh joined the institute as an engineer days before its formal establishment in 1969. “Mr. Suresh was part of ISRO’s journey. In fact, Suresh’s story is also ISRO’s story. He was part of the team that worked on India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam,” he said.
Appreciating his skills as a systems engineer and team builder, Mr. Narayanan noted that Suresh was part of all major works at ISRO. “So far the institute has conducted 105 launch vehicle missions and Mr. Suresh has led the Mission Readiness Review Committee for 49 of these missions – a remarkable achievement,” he said. Acknowledging Suresh’s leadership qualities, Mr. Narayanan noted that whenever a mission is successfully completed, many take credit but not during setbacks. “We salute Mr. Suresh as he took responsibility when one of the missions failed,” he recalled. He also mentioned that Suresh has mentored many scientists in his career and many of them have become Institute Chairmen.
Expressing happiness over the release of the Kannada translation of his biography, Mr. Narayanan said that the book would inspire many students from rural Karnataka to achieve great things in their lives.
The program was organized by Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Education on the occasion of National Science Day. Mr. BN Suresh, Space Scientist and Chancellor, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology; Sharath Ananthamurthy, Vice-Chancellor, Kuvempu University Sunil Suresh, author of the biography; Talavane Prakash, Foundation Chairman; and others participated in the program.
Published – 28 Feb 2026 21:12 IST
