# M. Y. S. Prasad

M.Y.S. Prasad is an Indian scientist and the former director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota Range (SDSC-SHAR). Govt. of India’s Civilian Award Padma Shri for the year 2014 for his distinguished service in Science and Technology.

## Profile of Dr. M.Y.S. Prasad

M.Y.S. Prasad Distinguished Scientist (APEX), ISRO & Director, SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
* Retired on 31 May 2015 as Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC-SHAR) of ISRO.
* Regular Employee strength of SDSC is 2100, and annual Budget Rs. 500 Crores
* DS (APEX) is Secretary to Government of India Grade since 1 May 2013.
* He is currently serving as the Vice-Chancellor in India's one of the top private universities, Vignan's University located in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

## Academic Qualifications and Experience

* Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics and Communications) in 1974 from Government College of Engineering, Kakinada.
* Ph.D. from BITS, Pilani in the subject of "Interference in Satellite Communications" in 2005.
* 39 years of experience in Indian Space Program, Steering various activities and programs in different Centres and Units.

## Positions held in ISRO

* Director of SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota, AP : Jan 2013 to 31 May 2015
* Associate Director SDSC SHAR : 2008 to Dec2012
* Deputy Director SAC, Ahmedabad : 2005 to 2008
* Director DECU, Ahmedabad : 2006 to 2008
* Director MCF Hassan, Karnataka : 1999 to 2005
* Associate Director MCF : 1998 to 1999
* Deputy Project Director PSLV, Thiruvananthapuram : Nov 1997 to Oct 1998
* Counsellor (Space), Embassy of India – Paris, FRANCE : 1994 to 1997
* Deputy Project Director ASLV & Project Manager-Avionics ASLV, VSSC : 1982 to 1994
* Project Engineer SLV-3, VSSC Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala : 1975 to 1982
* Worked in launch vehicle development, communication satellite operations, communication payload and ground systems development, international assignments, and presently in Launch Vehicle Operations Centre. Managed all areas with in-depth technical knowledge and enhanced teamwork.

## Major contributions

Technology
* Control of preparation, final operations and Launch of all PSLV and GSLV launches since 2008 at SDSC SHAR Seventeen PSLV and three GSLV Launches.
* Handled many emergencies in Real time during Launch preparations, including a large Leak of Propellant in GSLV-D5 first launch attempt in August 2013.
* Contributed extensively to the Failure Analysis of GSLV-F06 and GSLV-D3 Missions.
* Commissioning of 9 GSO Satellite Missions from MCF, Regular operations and Emergency operations connected with many on-orbit Satellite anomalies.
* Handled major emergency of INSAT-2E Satellite, and guided the Team to operate the Spacecraft through many innovative methods for its complete mission life of 12 years.
* Introduced On-Board Computers into Launch Vehicles starting from ASLV.
* Proposed, introduced, qualified and made operational a system in all Launch Vehicles called "Realtime Decision System in the Flight Sequencing" – which is a key element for all Launch Vehicle successes.
* Introduced Design, Tests, Analysis and Solutions for all Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) problems in Launch Vehicles.
Infrastructure
* Created and commissioned New Master Control Facility at Bhopal for GSO Satellite operations.
* Augmented MCF Hassan Ground Stations and Control Centre to operate 20 Satellites simultaneously.
* Created Satellite based Disaster Management Communication System - with 22 User Nodes, 15 Disaster Monitoring and Decision making Nodes, and with Hub at New Delhi.
* Planned and realised Satellite Communication Link to connect Indian Antarctica Research Station Maithri to Goa.
* Lead the Team to realise New Mission Control Centre at SDSC SHAR.
* Lead the Team to realise Acoustic Suppression System at Second Launchpad at SDSC SHAR.
* Conceived, Planned, Designed, and presently guiding a large active phased array antenna based beam steering radar for Multi Object Tracking. Project costing Rs. 260 Crores is nearing completion.

## International Experience

* He has worked for four years in Paris as Counsellor (Space) and Networked many International Aerospace Professionals for the benefit of ISRO.
* Represented India (& ISRO) in the United Nations Committee On Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS) for 11 years from 1996-2006.
* Member of the Working Group which evolved "UN Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines", adopted by UN General Assembly in December 2007.
* Elected as Member of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in 2008. Currently Member of IAA Awards Committee.
* Worked as the Vice-President of International Astronautical Federation (IAF) for 4 years from 2006-2010.
* Elected as Member of International Institute of Space Law (IISL).
* Visited Aerospace Organisations and Companies in the following Countries during the last 20 years : USA, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., Scotland, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Czech Republic, Hungary, Tunisia, French Guiana, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Canada. This exposure helped to network a large number of Space Professionals, and also to observe their models of working with close understanding.

## Awards and recognition

* Kannada Rajyotsava award in the field of Science, 2001.
* ISRO Merit award for in Orbit Management of Geo-stationary Satellites 2007.
* ISRO Team Excellence award for Operations of INSAT-2E, 2007.
* Selected and elected as Member of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in 2008
* ISRO Team Excellence award as the Leader of the team for Satellite based Disaster Warning and Communication Systems, 2009.
* ISRO Team Excellence award for EDUSAT Utilisation Programme, 2009.
* ISRO Team Excellence award as Team Leader for Development of Innovative Launch Facilities, 2011.
* "Professor Nayudamma" Award for 2013.
* Lifetime Achievement Award in Space Technologies by Arunai Engineering College, Tamil Nadu, in 2013.
* Honorary doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada in June, 2013.
* Govt. of India’s Civilian Award Padma Shri for the year 2014.
* Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2014–15 by the Indian Science Congress Association.
* Enrolled in the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) as Fellow and Honoured with Diamond Jubilee Medal – 2014 for outstanding contribution in the field of Electronics, Communication, IT.
* International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Laurels for Team Award-2013, as Technology Leader in Chandrayaan-I Mission.
* Honorary Doctorate from Vignan University, Guntur for the year 2014.
* Honorary advisor at Egnify Technologies Pvt.Ltd.

## Publications and public outreach

* 40 publications in various Indian and international journals and international conferences.
* Delivered more than 60 invited lectures on different areas of space field in various universities/engineering colleges.
* Taught satellite communication subject for M.Tech. students.