Shyam Balasubramanian By

SRIHARIKOTA: ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan will probably have his ears buzzing with the high- level of activity around him as he nears his likely retirement at the end of this calendar year. The space agency, which successfully undertook two key projects under Radhakrishnan’s leadership, is set to carry out three launches in December, apart from going all-out to complete a number of pending projects.

The launch of the IRNSS-1D, India’s fourth homemade nav-sat, would be launched within 45 days, Radhakrishnan announced in the wee hours of Thursday, following the launch of the IRNSS-1C on board the PSLV-C26. Also, ISRO officials said they were on the cusp of full preparedness for the experimental flight of the GSLV-Mk III, which is also slated for its run in December. Besides, the space agency is gearing up for the launch of the GSAt-16 communications satellite around the first week of December aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guyana.

The launch of the IRNSS-1D would kick-start another sphere of operations for ISRO, as it would enable the IRNSS constellation to begin the provision of navigation services. ISRO would be coordinating with private players in the testing and integration of services provided by the IRNSS. Apart from all this, preparations are underway for the launch of IRNSS-1E, IRNSS-1F and IRNSS-1G. All this activity sets the stage for the retirement of Radhakrishnan.

Sources said he is set to retire on December 31, and has proposed Kiran Kumar, presently the director of the Space Applications Centre, as the likely successor. Radhakrishnan has led ISRO from 2009, overseeing the landmark Mars Orbiter Mission and leading the space agency when it finally demonstrated that it could master cryogenic technology with the launch of the GSLV-D5 in January this year. He also led the space agency as it expanded its commercial operations through its business arm Antrix Corporation.