Shri P.S. Veeraraghavan, Distinguished scientist of ISRO and Director, ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), assumed the office of Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram. He took over the charge on 31st October, 2009 from Dr. K. Radhakrishnan who has taken over as Secretary, Dept. of Space and Chairman of ISRO from Dr G Madhavan Nair.

Shri Parivakkam Subramaniam Veeraraghavan has made very significant contributions for the launch vehicle technology of ISRO starting from the first SLV-3 Project. After obtaining his M.Tech. degree from I.I.T., Chennai, Shri Veeraraghavan joined VSSC in 1971. His first assignment was in SLV-3 Project under the leadership of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, as Engineer-in-Charge of Checkout System development. He was responsible for the design and development of the first checkout system for the first SLV-3 Project.

Shri Veeraraghavan has made pioneering contributions in the area of integration and checkout of ISROs launch vehicles. As Deputy Director of Mechanisms & Vehicle Integration Testing (MVIT), he was instrumental for assembly, integration and checkout of ISROs launch vehicles PSLV and GSLV till 2002. After assuming the charge of the Director, IISU since 2002, he was responsible for the inertial systems development in ISRO for both launch vehicles and spacecraft. The performance of these inertial navigation systems has been at par with those of the best in the world. The inertial systems in Chandrayaan-1 contributed to its precise orbital maneuvers and very accurate lunar injection. Under his able leadership, IISU has developed a number of advanced inertial sensors and systems for future missions. ISRO has now achieved 100% self-reliance in the crucial technology of inertial sensors and systems.

Sree Veeraraghavan is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the VASVIK Award for 1997 (Electronics), the Astronautical Society of Indias award for 2002 in the area of Rocket Technology and ISROs Performance Excellence Award for 2007. He has been selected as Fellow for a number of professional bodies including the Aeronautical Society of India. He has also been ominated to the governing council of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, New Delhi.