Under his leadership, the Centre undertook comprehensive resource planning to support both ISRO and the emerging commercial space sector, in line with India’s new space policy. An exclusive launch complex for SSLV is also being developed under his guidance.

Dr Rajarajan has previously held several leadership roles at VSSC and has contributed significantly to the indigenisation of critical space systems. He was instrumental in engaging Indian industries and forging strategic collaborations that strengthened ISRO’s capabilities in composite technology and solid motor production.

As Director of SDSC SHAR, he led multidisciplinary teams involved in solid motor production and launch operations, overseeing the successful execution of several major missions including Chandrayaan-3, Gaganyaan’s TV-D1 test vehicle mission, Aditya L1, SSLV, and LVM3 M2/OneWeb India-1—the first dedicated commercial mission. He also supervised the launch of Vikram-S, India’s first privately built rocket.

Notably, Dr Rajarajan played a key role in facilitating private participation in India’s space sector. He enabled Hyderabad-based start-up Skyroot Aerospace to launch Vikram-S and supported Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos in the successful launch of its maiden flight.