India’s space agency is grappling with an unusual talent exodus. ISRO sources told The Times of India that between 100 and 120 scientists may have left the organisation in recent months, many of them tied to critical programmes like Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan and SpaDeX. The departures have hit centres including the UR Rao Satellite Centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Satish Dhawan Space Centre and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre hardest.
The Big Names Who Have Quit
- Victor Joseph T — Project Director of the LVM3 rocket programme at VSSC, the very vehicle set to carry the Gaganyaan mission. He exited in February after leading the launch vehicle programme for about 13 months.
- Aditya Rallapalli — A key member of the Chandrayaan-3 mission team.
- The SpaDeX Project Director from URSC, who led India’s Space Docking Experiment.
Where They’re Headed: The Private Space Boom
A large share of the exodus is flowing straight into India’s private space sector, which has scaled up fast in the past few years. Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos, both building indigenous small-satellite launch vehicles, have emerged as magnets for ISRO’s rocket and propulsion talent. Pixxel, which builds hyperspectral earth-imaging satellites, has similarly drawn interest from ISRO’s satellite and remote-sensing engineers.
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Why Scientists Are Walking Away
The pull isn’t mysterious. Low government pay, bureaucratic red tape, limited career growth, and increasingly lucrative offers from private space firms are driving experienced hands out the door. ISRO has also had a rough run lately, with two consecutive PSLV mission failures adding to internal frustration.
Government Tightens the Exit Door
In response, the Department of Space issued an internal memorandum on July 14 instructing centres not to routinely approve resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group ‘A’ scientific staff on strategically important missions.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has acknowledged the departures but described employee turnover as a normal feature of large organisations, stressing that the new rule aims to protect mission continuity rather than block people from leaving.
