Year born: 1949
Research Areas: Electrical Engineering and Space Research
"Success is a tricky thing... I read somewhere that if you had nine hours to chop down a tree; you must take eight hours to sharpen your tool."
Source: K. Radhakrishnan Quotes (Author of My Odyssey)
Early Life
Koppillil was born in 1949 in Kerala, India. He grew up in a small coastal town and liked science and maths from a young age. He also enjoyed music and dance with his family supporting these interests.
He studied electrical engineering at college and finished with top marks. After this, he studied management at IIM Bangalore and later completed a PhD at IIT Kharagpur. His research looked at how to run India’s growing network of satellites. A satellite is a machine that orbits Earth and sends useful information back to the ground.
Career highlights
Koppillil joined the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s national space agency, in 1971. His first job was to help design parts for space missions. He worked on India’s early rockets and laid the basis for India’s rocket programme.
He helped set up centres that used remote sensing, using satellite images to study land, water, crops, forests, and weather. These centres trained farmers, engineers, and local leaders. They learned how to use this data to solve real problems. He also led a big national project which studied land and water in more than 175 districts across India.
Later, he became the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, one of the main rocket centres. He led 5 successful rocket launches. He also helped plan early work for India’s human spaceflight programme. He supported India’s first mission to the Moon, which launched in 2008.
In 2009, he became the Chairman of ISRO and stayed in this role until 2014. In this time, India sent its first mission to Mars, tested the heaviest rocket in its history, and tested new engines and capsules for astronauts. He built strong partnerships with other space agencies around the world.
Koppillil helped young scientists and gave young engineers important roles in big missions. He also encouraged private companies to make parts for rockets and satellites. He helped redesign their second Moon mission so that India could build its own lander and rover.
He helped guide India’s long-term science and technology plans through roles on national councils and boards.
Legacy
Koppillil is best known for leading India’s first mission to Mars. The mission made India the first country to reach Mars on its first try. It also showed that space missions can be done at low cost.
He received many awards for his work and won the Padma Bhushan in 2014. This is one of India’s highest honours. He also received awards from science academies and space organisations around the world. Many young scientists say they joined ISRO because of him. His leadership helped India become a major spacefaring nation.
Other interests
Koppillil enjoys Carnatic music, which is a classical music style from South India. He sings and plays several instruments. He is also trained in Kathakali, a traditional dance drama from Kerala. He learned both skills as a child. He has performed at many festivals and cultural events.
He says that music and dance helped him stay calm during hard space missions. They also helped him think clearly when he had to make important decisions.