ISRO scientist AK Anil Kumar elected vice-president of International Astronautical Federation

Dr Anil Kumar is currently associate director at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

BySumit Jha

Published Sep 29, 2022 | 6:57 PMUpdatedSep 29, 2022 | 6:57 PM

AK Anil Kumar

Senior Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Dr AK Anil Kumar has been elected vice-president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Anil Kumar is currently associate director of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

ISTRAC is responsible for providing a range of space operation services — spacecraft control, telemetry, tracking and command, or TTC, support services, and other related services — for ISRO’s launch vehicles, low-earth orbiting spacecraft, and deep-space missions, as well as other space agencies around the world.

“It (Anil Kumar’s election) is a recognition of ISRO’s space endeavors that help in promoting international collaboration,” the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said in a tweet.

The IAF is an international space advocacy body based in Paris and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organisation to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay the foundation for international space cooperation. It has 433 members in 72 nations.

“IAF actively encourages the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes and supports the dissemination of scientific and technical information related to space. It is a recognition of ISRO’s space endeavors that helps in promoting international collaboration,” said ISRO in a statement.